Kerala to submit special package to Centre

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 22(UNI) Kerala Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran today said the Government would submit a special package of Rs 1,000 crore to include the State in the 'Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana', a Rs 25,000 crore project announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Addressing a meeting of top officials from the Planning Board and Agriculture department, he suggested that a scheme that enabling to utilise all the barren land for cultivation should be planned in the project, an official release said.

The project should also have provisions to create 10,000 job opportunities and finding self-employment to the unemployed agriculture graduates, he added.

Mr Ratnakaran said top priority should be given to increase the production of important agriculture crops like paddy, coconut and vegetables, besides producing valued added products.

Though the State had urged the Centre to include the State in the 'Bakshya Suraksha project', no positive reply had emanated from there, he said and added that the Government would submit a memorandum to the Centre, requesting it to include a district which had prominence in paddy cultivation.

UNI