The Telangana government has announced new schemes and made changes to existing schemes for the welfare of weavers. These initiatives were announced by Handlooms and Textiles Minister KT Rama Rao at the National Handloom Day celebrations in Hyderabad. The new initiatives include ‘Telangana Chenetha Maggam’, ‘Nethannaku Health Card’, extension of Nethannaku Bima, revised ‘Chenetha Mithra’, and increased ex-gratia for TESCO members.
The government will also revive the Pochampally Handloom Park. Prior to the celebrations, Rao laid the foundation for Handlooms Convention Centre and Handloom & Handicraft Museum at Uppal Bhagayath. The museum aims to preserve the history of handlooms and showcase the tools used in this craft throughout the years. The Handlooms Convention Centre will serve as a gathering place for handloom buyers and sellers, as well as for research and development and other conferences.
Under the Telangana Chenetha Maggam Scheme, all existing pit looms will be replaced with frame looms. Each loom will be replaced at a cost of Rs. 38,000, with a budget of Rs. 40.50 crore. Health cards will be issued to weavers with an annual coverage of Rs. 25,000. The Nethannaku Bima scheme will be extended to weavers aged between 59-75 years by integrating it with the Nethannaku Cheyutha Scheme. The ex-gratia amount for TESCO members will also be increased from Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 25,000.
Under the revised Chenetha Mithra scheme, Rs. 13,000 will be directly deposited into the accounts of weavers. Previously, there was a 50% subsidy provided on the purchase of yarn, dyes, and chemicals. However, there were issues with uploading invoices and the condition to buy yarn through NHDC or NHDC approved depots, which resulted in not all workers benefiting from the subsidy. To address this issue, KTR announced that Rs. 3,000 per month per loom will be directly deposited in handloom workers’ accounts.
During the celebrations, Ministers Rama Rao and V Srinivas Goud presented the Konda Laxman Bapuji awards and handed over checks related to various schemes to the beneficiaries.
