Date:03/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/03/stories/2005080300601900.htm

Back Kerala to export procured pepper

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Aug. 2

THE State Government has asked the State Cooperative Marketing Federation (Marketfed) not to sell the pepper procured from the farmers in the domestic market.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said in the State Assembly on Tuesday that the Government was expecting incentive at the rate of Rs 22 a kilo from the Centre for the pepper procured by Marketfed.

He said the Government would make all efforts to export the pepper either in the procured form or after value addition.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the Government had constituted a high-power committee on trade as recommended by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission. The committee would chalk out policies and programmes to promote marketing of agricultural products.

The Committee is chaired by the Chief Minister and has the Agriculture Minister as its Vice-chairman. It would focus on export of cash crops after value addition, he added.

The Tourism and Devaswom Minister, Mr K.C. Venugopal, said the Government wished to develop Nilackal as the base camp for pilgrims visiting Sabarimala. It had asked a consultancy firm, Ecomark, to prepare the plan for the purpose.

The Minister told the House that the Government had already taken possession of 110 hectares of land at Nilackal, which would be used for creating parking facilities for 1,000 vehicles. Besides, there would be a temporary medical centre there and provision for drinking water supply.

He said the cardiology centre at Sabarimala would be strengthened and it would be open on the first day of every month. Steps would also be taken to develop Pandalam as an important component of Sabarimala pilgrimage, Mr Venugopal said.

The Health Minister, Mr K.K. Ramachandran, said the Government had released testing kits and Rs 1 lakh to each district to tackle the outbreak of viral fever. This apart, various other measures had also been initiated to prevent the spread of the disease, he added.

UNI adds: The State Government has formulated a Mineral Policy on the lines of a National Policy, the Industries Minister, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, told the State Assembly.

According to the State Policy, the lease for mining would be allowed only for joint sector companies which produced value-added products from mineral sand, he said in a written reply to a member of the House.

The Industries Department Corporation had invited applications as per the government authorisation to start industrial units for making value added products, he said.

Steps would be taken for the development of the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd, a public sector undertaking, he said and added that the government also proposed to start a new venture with Indian Rare Earths Ltd and National Mineral Development Corporation.