State allots Rs 5.16 crore to revive rural enterprises in district

Coimbatore: The district administration has started identifying beneficiaries for the Covid Assistance Package (CAP) aimed at providing financial assistance to rural enterprises in distress due to the lockdown.
The state government has allocated Rs 5.16 crore to assist 5,047 beneficiaries in the district.
Under the scheme, working capital support fund up ts Rs 50,000 would be given to nano and micro enterprises, one-time capital grant up to Rs 1.50 lakh to existing enterprises groups, capitalization fund up to Rs 10 lakh to farmer producer organizations (FPOs), financial assistance up to Rs 20,000 to enterprises run by differently-abled or other vulnerable people and start-up grant support up to Rs 1 lakh to skilled youth migrant returnees.
The scheme would be implemented in 54 village panchayats from four blocks – Karamadai, Annur, Sarkar Samankulam and Periyanaickenpalayam – in the district.
“The purpose of the scheme is to extend support and uplift the rural enterprises that were severely affected during the lockdown,” said M Manimaran, executing officer of Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project (TNRTP), the government body implementing the scheme.
Apart from the enterprises, for the first time, financial assistance would be given to migrant workers who had been working in other districts, states or countries until recently and had returned to Coimbatore after losing their business or jobs, to start a new enterprise in the district, he said.
The scheme is not just aimed at assisting the workers to uplift their livelihood but also to create employment opportunities through them, he added.
“At present, we have been collecting details with the help of officials from district administration and at block levels. The beneficiaries would be selected based on government criteria after scrutinizing them. The fund would be credited to the beneficiaries within 10 days once the approval is obtained,” he added.
People are also requested to approach the TNRTP officials directly to apply for the assistance. They could reach out to A Philips Ilayaraja, district executive officer, S Kavitha, executing officer either by visiting their office at Town Hall or through telephone number 0422-2300633.