Rs 1.3-crore welfare projects for SCs

KOCHI: In a bid to uplift the weakest among the Scheduled Caste communities by offering them income-generating projects, the government has mooted two new projects - hybrid cow rearing and agro nursery.The hybrid-cow breeding project is initially being implemented in districts under Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Milma) which includes Idukki, Alappuzha and Thrissur.“500 cows have been allotted to the four districts under the scheme. The selection of beneficiaries is a problem as the government has not earmarked the number of cows for each district. The `-1.3 crore project will be feasible for beneficiaries who are familiar with cow rearing. Hybrid cows give 15 to 16 litres of milk per day. It will be better if the cows are bought from states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The cows will be distributed in proportion to the SC population in each district. The beneficiaries can buy a cow for `35,000 with a 75 per cent subsidy,” said an official with Milma. Ever since the price of Milma milk was hiked by `5, people are showing more interest in cow rearing,” he said.The beneficiaries will be selected in coordination with project directors of each district and respective panchayat heads, he said. The other project envisages 10 agro-nurseries in each district for women. A sum of `2 lakh has been allotted per head and Ernakulam has been allotted ` 20 lakh. But only those who purchase or own three cents of land can avail themselves of the scheme for which `1.5 lakh has been allotted.“It is difficult to get 3 cents of land on the roadside for `1.5 lakh rupees in Ernakulam. The registration cost is high which leaves us with little to start the initial work,” said a person who wished to take up the scheme. “The project will be productive in Idukki, as land is available for a comparatively cheaper price and the community is agro-based, but it may not be feasible in districts like Ernakulam and Kottayam,” Idukki district SC Development officer said.“We have just introduced a number of pilot projects as private nurseries and cow rearing are high yielding,” said joint -director, SC Development, Devarajan.