KOCHI : The plantation directorate will implement the state government’s Plantation Housing Scheme, which has been allotted Rs 10 crore in the current financial year, to build decent accommodations for workers in the sector, Industries Minister P Rajeeve said in Kochi on Tuesday.
“The draft on providing subsidy to plantation owners is under way, and hopefully, the government will issue an order by June,” Rajeeve said while interacting with planters during a three-hour discussion on the scheme.
He said a single-window system will be implemented in June for permission to carry out alternative agriculture and tourism activities on 5% of plantation land.
“The single-window system is being implemented to overcome the practical difficulties in getting permission for crops, medicinal plants, fruit trees, flower plants, etc., in the current scenario. We will try to ensure that the applications will be processed in a time-bound manner. The government will go for more concrete steps once the ongoing IIM-Kozhikode study (on value addition to make Kerala plantations reach out to the global market) is over,” the minister said.
To discuss the issues regarding the clearance of loans for the housing scheme, the government is facilitating a meeting of the State-Level Bankers’ Committee, Rajeeve said.
He exhorted planters to submit their requirements at the earliest. He also said that to address various issues in the plantation sector, the committee headed by the ministers for revenue, forest, and industries will hold discussions with the plantation owners.
“The government will release a comprehensive report as soon as the report of IIM Kozhikode, which studies the problems and opportunities in the plantation sector, comes out. As for the various permissions, high-powered panels under the revenue and forest ministers will consider the memorandums from the planters,” he added.