In order to prevent any discordant note emerge from capital critics on the day of PM’s visit that thousands farm laborers have been thrown out of livelihood as fertile lands have been chosen for capital construction, state government has started alternative employment initiative in a big way. The TDP government has begun the exercise of providing training in skill development to the farm laborers in capital region, who are rendered jobless due to closure agriculture in capital development region, to facilitate them get jobs in industries.
AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) has identified 20,000 farm laborers from 29 villages of the Capital Region for training. They will be labourers would be trained in 14 sectors. “We have already started providing skill development training for the first batch of people from the capital region. In the first batch, as many as 250 farm laborers are undergoing training in construction sector and self-employment schemes,” Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana announced.
The government has also initiated steps to set up Capital Region Social Security Fund for the 12,000 families of agriculture laborers and tenant farmers. Under the program each family will get Rs 2,500 per month for 10 years as unemployment allowance. Also, plans are afoot to provide employment for the farm laborers 365 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Step are being taken up arrange interest-free loans up to Rs 25 lakh for youth to take up self-employment in the capital region.
The APSSDC will also join hands with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and global retail chain IKEA to train 5,000 women in 10 clusters on handicrafts. The IKEA will take up the responsibility of marketing the products. APSSDC has already established 36 centres of excellence in 6 clusters in the hub-and-spoke model apart from the existing skill development centres in collaboration with Siemens.
Let hope these steps will make the transition from farm to factory a smooth affair rather than leading to extermination.
