Khadi organisations move to save KVIC

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Prominent Khadi organisations across the country have appealed to the central government to immediately dissolve and reconstitute the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Khadi organisations have accused the UPA government of killing the Khadi industry on which nearly 10 million people are dependent.

The Khadi Swadeshi Forum has disclosed that an ambitious rupees 15000 crore scheme, designed to create 20 lakh jobs, has failed.

In 1995, the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, had initiated a rupees 5600 crore Khadi Work Plan to create jobs for 20 lakh youth. In 2000-01, the BJP-led NDA government raised the amount by rupees 10,000 crore and kept the target of 20 lakh jobs.

Later on the UPA government dissolved the KVIC. In three years, the capital for the 'Khadi Wpk Plan' had increased three-fold but the results were not commensurate with it. The Khadi organisations have claimed that three KVIC schemes for hand-made paper, bee keeping and tannery have failed.

The Khadi Swadeshi Forum has asked UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, and Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to order an open probe into KVIC affairs (1996-2010). It has also started crusade to save the KVIC.

Between 2004 and 2010, the UPA Government announced several ambitious Khadi projects but after the reconstruction of the KVIC in 2005-06, things have become worse.

The head of the Centre for Media and Cultural Research had disclosed that in the last 15 years, the Khadi output has declined by more that a quarter while the Khadi prices have gone up more than five times, adversely affecting the sales.

The Khadi Swadeshi Forum believes of the faulty government policies, Khadi, the apparel of the poor is becoming the rich people's apparel. In the last 15 years, no probe was carried out into the financial irregularities in the KVIC, though at one time the prime minister's office did start the process.

It was also shocking that there was no celebration of the 75 years of Khadi. The Forum wants to emphasize that there is a strong vote bank of six crore voters of Khadi workers and their families in the 640 districts and six lakh villages in the country.The forum has appealed to all sections of political opinion to help save the Khadi industry, which is capable of maximizing employment. It wants that Khadi rebate to continued. (ANI)