Pondicherry: Market Committees of the Agriculture Department will soon disburse incentive due to farmers for nearly a year and a half. Stating this to reporters at Nettapakkam near here on Saturday after laying the foundation of Rs.2.3 crore campus for the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), the Agriculture Minister V. Vaithilingam said the payment of the incentive would entail an expenditure of Rs.5 crore to the department.

The incentive would range between Rs.30 and Rs.50 for per tonne of paddy, which farmers were selling to the committees.

Mr. Vaithilingam said that a private company from neighbouring Nellikuppam had purchased the privately sponsored New Horizon Sugar Mills (presently defunct) at Ariyur near Pondicherry to revive the production activities. All dues the previous management had owed to the farmers and also to the banks had been settled by the Government through due procedures.

Referring to the steps taken to augment drinking water supply to the villagers in Nettapakkam and also a few other hamlets in its neighbourhood, Mr. Vaithilingam said the Public Works Department had already constructed a bed dam across Malattar at a cost of Rs.80 lakh to ensure the sub-soil water table was recharged. Another bed dam at a cost of Rs.1 crore would be constructed in Vadukuppam village.

Overhead tank

An overhead tank constructed at a cost of Rs.1 crore in Nettapakkam would be commissioned soon to benefit Nettapakkam, Kariamanickkam and Pandasozhanallur.

The Primary Health Centre in Nettapakkam would be upgraded into a 30-bed, 24-hour community health centre. It would also function as a nodal centre for primary health centres in Madukkarai, Sooramangalam and Nettapakkam. The Government Boys Middle School at Kalmandapam would be enhanced into a high school while the one for girls in Nettapakkam would also be converted into a high school.

In course of time, these would be raised to the level of higher secondary schools, the Minister added.

Mr. Vaithilingam said that the Industrial Training Institute would have a palatial campus and would offer courses in nearly five trades. Executive Engineer, PWD, P. Vedanathan, Assistant Engineer Sai Subramanian and Junior Engineer A. Manjini were among those present.

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