KOCHI: Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has unveiled an ambitious plan to restructure the traditional coir sector, aiming to provide better wages to the 1.5 lakh-strong workforce and ensure a three-fold increase in coir production through modernisation. The minister said a `1,200-crore scheme will be implemented for restructuring the coir sector. Apart from the plan fund, the government will seek a loan from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) for implementing the project.
The NCDC has proposed to constitute a Special Project Monitoring Unit for the implementation of the restructuring scheme, he said.In the budget, the government has set aside `211 crore for the coir industry, including a `70-crore loan from the NCDC.
Considering the shortage of coir fibre, the government will establish 1,000 defibering units across the state aiming to procure and process around 200 crore coconut husks. The Coirfed will procure the fibre from these mills and deliver it to the cooperative societies and ensure a daily wage of `600 to the labourers working in these mills. As many as 1,000 automatic spinning machines will be installed in the coir spinning sector. The Coirfed will procure the coir yarn produced by these spinning units, providing a daily wage of `300 to the workers. These steps will facilitate a threefold increase in the production in the cooperative coir spinning sector.
The budget has set aside `5 crore to provide pension and retirement benefits to the employees retiring from the Coir Cooperative Societies. A one-time settlement scheme will be implemented, in consultation with the banks, to save Coir Cooperative Societies from the debt trap.