SHILLONG: The state will get Rs 7.8 crore from the Centre for setting up a textile tourism complex in Nongpoh.
Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta, who visited Shillong on Saturday, said the fund will be released within 15 days.
The Union minister visited weaving centres and sericulture farm in the city where he interacted with weavers.
Tamta said NBCC, a central public sector undertaking, has completed construction of a Rs 14-crore apparel centre in Ampati.
The ministry will provide all infrastructure and machines to the centre “so that local garments can be exported throughout the world”, he informed, adding that plans are afoot to link the apparel centre with fashion designers.
When asked about local weavers’ problems in the market, the minister said the state government has been asked to submit a proposal to set up cocoon banks in the state. “The centre has sanctioned as much as Rs 43 crore to Meghalaya under the Integrated Sericulture Developement Project and Intensive Bivoltine Sericulture Development Project. We gave new seeds and people learnt new technologies about breeding silkworm.
Those who were producing one crop earlier are now producing three crops in a year,” Tamta said.
The minister pointed out that production of mulberry, eri and muga has increased to 1,000 metric tonne from 500 MT before 2014.
Around 65 per cent of the 50 lakh weavers in the country are in the North East.
