PALAKKAD: The Palakkad District Panchayat will implement an annual plan of Rs. 25.54 crores in 2005-06.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the District Panchayat president, K. V. Ramakrishnan, said that the new plan will implement a novel scheme for paddy aimed at protecting the marginal farmers, the paddy fields and the natural water conservation reservoirs.

He said that the marginal farmers who hold less than one acre of land will be given 50 per cent subsidy of the cost of cultivation of paddy. An amount of Rs.50 lakhs has been earmarked for the project in the current plan year.

This scheme is being introduced to arrest the alarming reclamation of paddy fields in the district as it has become economically unviable for many farmers.

`Galasa' scheme

He said that the panchayat in association with the Kerala Agricultural University had implemented the `Galasa' group farming scheme for paddy cultivation that helped to increase paddy production and cut the cost of cultivation. This scheme was accepted as a model for the grama panchayats in the State by the Government, Mr. Ramakrishnan said.

He said that during 2005-06, an amount of Rs. 1.29 crores will be spent for implementing 17 projects for the development of agriculture.

An amount of Rs. 2.9 crores would be spent for implementing 30 projects in the irrigation sector.

For solving the drinking water problem 45 projects would be implemented spending an amount of Rs. 2.5 crores.

For the construction of roads and bridges an amount of Rs. 5.7 crores would be spent in the current plan year, he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said that the panchayat was successful in implementing schemes to provide infrastructure facilities for the schools in the district. In the current annual budget an amount of Rs. 3.5 crores would be spent for the development of the education sector.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said that in the social service sector an amount of Rs. 5.8 crores would be spent in the current plan year.

He said that the Rs. 45 crore central aided Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) also helped to provide infrastructure facilities in the district. But there was laxity in implementing the project due to the frequent change of District Collectors who headed the project monitoring committee.

Education sector

The District Panchayat president said that in the education sector to promote the artistic talents of students a training programme is being planned. An amount of Rs. 5 lakhs has been earmarked for this new project.

To help the weavers a dyeing unit will be set up at a cost of Rs.18 lakhs. At present, the weavers of the district have to depend on dyeing units in Tamil Nadu.

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