HYDERABAD: The scheme was meant to provide sustained livelihood for thousands of leather artisans. But it wasn't to be.

The mini leather parks set up in 10 districts in 2002 under `Malupu' fell into disuse with the imported machinery lying idle and trained artisans going back to their previous occupations.

Rs. 2.5 cr. spent

This sorry state of affairs came out in the open in an investigation conducted by the Vigilance and Enforcement Department.

An amount of Rs. 2.5 crore spent on `Malapu' turned out to be a "wasteful expenditure," official sources told The Hindu .

The scheme was launched in 13 districts with the objective of providing gainful employment to artisans through upgradation of their skills and capacity building, The vigilance inquiry covered the functioning of two mini leather parks in Mahabubnagar and Guntur districts, one each in Chittoor, Prakasam, Krishna, Srikakulam, Nalgonda and Nizamabad, besides a medium-sized one in Karimnagar.

The parks were established at outlays ranging from Rs. 25 lakh to Rs.40 lakh.

The machinery for one of them in Mahabubnagar district was imported at a cost of Rs. 6.75 lakh for making 300 pairs of footwear a day.

Besides, the Government spent money for the training.

Poor planning

Remote location of the parks, establishing them without effective demand survey and proper data on tanners, cobblers and flayers were cited as some of the prime reasons for failure of the scheme. Other causes were lack of proper marketing and absence of awareness in trained artisans that it could be a dependable occupation.

The department suggested review of the scheme by taking corrective measures. When contacted, a senior official of the Leather Industries Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (LIDCAP) said the Government had been requested to sanction Rs. 2 lakh each for reviving 17 parks.

Tailoring suffers

Another scheme on which the Government spent more than Rs. 1 crore for training 12,000 women in tailoring ended in a similar fashion with the imported machinery remaining unused at Rajahmundry.

Women did not take up tailoring and returned to their domestic chores, sources said.

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