Pongal free cloth to be distributed to the public from December 5: Minister

The Chief Minister will inaugurate the distribution of free dhoti and sarees to the family card holders from December 5 on the occasion of Pongal festival. Handloom Minister R Gandhi said that the work for this is underway. He  inaugurated a modern sales outlet worth Rs 22 lakhs on behalf of Centex in Chennimalai, Erode district and an export sales outlet at a cost of Rs 48 lakhs at the Kalikkavalasu Weavers’ Society.
Information Minister Swaminathan, MP KE Prakash, and Collector Kandasamy were present.
Later, Minister Gandhi told reporters: When the DMK government took charge, Co-optex was operating at a loss of Rs 9.5 crore. But due to government measures, it earned a profit of Rs 9 crore in the same year. Out of the total 150 Co-optex showrooms, 106 are in Tamil Nadu. The rest are in other states. Out of these, 58 showrooms were modernized. As a result, sales have doubled.  Currently, Co-optex is earning a profit of Rs. 20 crore per year.
When this government took charge, the South Indian Mills Association demanded the removal of the one percent cess levied on the sale of cotton. Due to this tax, mills are reluctant to come here from other states to buy cotton. So they have been demanding to remove it for thirty years. This government removed that one percent tax.
Similarly, banks provided loans at 8 percent interest to modernize the old machinery in the mills. The state government gave 2% as interest subsidy. The Chief Minister increased it to 6%. Apart from that, Rs. 500 crore has been allocated for the modernization of the textile sector in the next ten years. Rs. 1 lakh is required to modernize power looms.
For the first time, financial assistance will be provided to modernize three thousand power looms.
If handloom weavers work for a whole day, the wages were between Rs 300 and 400.  To make them entrepreneurs, the Chief Minister has formulated a plan to set up three power looms on one acre of land and produce them separately to increase their wages. The subsidy for this was increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore.
Currently, they earn up to Rs 1500 daily. In the first phase, 10 factories were permitted and societies have been formed in Kanchipuram, Tindivanam, Gudiyatham and Coimbatore. It is only after this government came to power that a 10 percent wage increase and a 10 percent dearness allowance increase are being given every year to weavers. Similarly, orders for the production of free dhoti  sarees to be given to the cooperative societies are given in advance. Last year, there was a slight delay due to the parliamentary elections. But now, since advance orders have been given, dhoti sarees will be provided from December 5. A total of 1.77 crore free dhoti sarees will be provided. Since there was a stock last year, it will be 1.41 crore dhoti and saree will be produced now.  The produced dhoti sarees will be handed over to the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and distributed through to ration shops through the revenue department. Earlier, 50 dhoti or sarees would be sent to a shop after production. Then they would be sent again. Due to this, some shops would only give dhoti. Some shops would give only saree. But now it has been ordered to send both at the same time.
So, the consumer gets both. Currently, quality dhoti sarees are being produced. Due to this, college students wear them. Cooperative societies are given orders and yarn to produce dhoti sarees. But we have found that some societies used polyester yarn because it was cheap. We returned it to the concerned societies. Action is being taken against such societies. Earlier, letter pad cooperative societies worked to produce these free dhoti sarees. Thus, we have found and removed 56 societies. A 1110-acre site has been selected to set up a mega textile park in Virudhunagar and work has begun. It is a huge project. It will take many years to complete it. But a textile park is being set up on 110 acres in Salem. We will inaugurate the office for it tomorrow.
It will have 100 power looms. The previous AIADMK government announced the mini textile park project. Accordingly, two acres of land are required. Three power looms can be set up. Rs 2½ crore will be given as a subsidy.  But since these two and a half crore rupees should be used only for basic facilities. The plan announced in the AIADMK regime in 2016 remained the same. The Chief Minister announced that these two and a half crore rupees can be used to buy power looms. So immediately after the announcement, 100 people applied. Eligible persons have been identified and now 19 people have been given permission. America has increased the import duty by 50%. This will affect not only the textile industry but all industries. The government will take appropriate action in this regard. The sale of handloom bedsheets has increased after this regime came to power. If power loom jamukalas are manufactured and sold in Bhavani, the government is taking action. So there is no impact there. Silver and gold lace is used in Kanchipuram silk sarees. After this government came to power, the quality of gold and silver lace is inspected and a guarantee card is issued. A machine is installed in the shop itself to check the quality of gold and silver lace used in the silk sarees produced by weavers coop societies.