HUBLI: The KVIC is planning to bring the weaving and spinning activities of khadi under the purview of the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) to transform rural artisans into entrepreneurs.

The KVIC thinks that in the current economic scenario, khadi artisans are required to take up profitable ventures under the REGP. The units selected under the scheme will be exempt from Certification Rules, Cost Chart Regulation and Rebate Subsidy.

B.S. Patil, chairman of the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha, a State-level federation of the khadi and village industries units, has expressed his shock over the proposal, which will see "the end of khadi".

According to him, there will be no sanctity left in khadi if the institutions are freed from certification and cost chart regulation.

The step will pave the way for anything being palmed off as khadi. Most of the khadi institutions in the country, which fulfil the noble cause of providing employment to the rural poor with minimum investment, will face closure, Mr. Patil said.

Declining production

He said the production and sale of khadi has been going down gradually. The employment potential has come down from 15 lakhs in the Eighth Plan to 9.5 lakhs now. The value of khadi produced has come down from Rs. 650 crores to Rs. 430 crores. Under these circumstances, if the Cost Chart Regulation and Certifications are withdrawn, it will be the "end of khadi". This will lead to increase in unemployment among the rural poor, he added

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