Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Handloom workers don’t benefit from subsidies”

CHENNAI: Most handloom workers do not benefit from government initiatives, a survey conducted by the Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) has found.

According to the survey, only handloom workers who enrolled themselves in co-operative societies (comprising 30 per cent of all workers) benefit from subsidies and incentives. Furthermore, a majority of weavers do not benefit from the increased export of handloom products over the past years owing to lack of awareness.

Speaking at a meeting convened by CAG to discuss these issues, Petchi, planning officer, State Planning Commission, said the government was implementing programmes during the 11th Plan to help the handloom sector.

Three major clusters for handloom weavers were being developed at Tiruvannamalai, Kurinijipadi and Tiruchi at a cost of Rs. 2 crore each, and export-oriented clusters would be developed at Chennimalai in Erode and in Virudhunagar. Wage revision and design upgrade would also be undertaken, she said.

D. Narasimha Reddy, chief co-ordinator, Centre for Handloom Information and Policy Advocacy, said studies in Andhra Pradesh had shown that there was sufficient demand for handloom products. But handloom weavers continued to suffer for lack of sufficient investment in technology and infrastructure. Even the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, one of the biggest lenders to the weavers, provided only a fraction of the actual amount needed, he said. The cluster-based approach the government adopted could ensure sufficient finance flow. Creating a brand value for quality products could also help the sector by encouraging private investment, he said.

Sabitha Radhakrishnan, executive committee member, Crafts Council of India (CCI), said the council would approach corporates to fund ventures undertaken with the CCI support.

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