Airport in Wayanad & Wayanad Package

Kinfra to work on Wayanad airport project
Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) has been directed to conduct a techno-economic feasibility study on the proposed airport project for the backward Wayanad district in north Kerala.Earlier, a technical feasibility report prepared by Airport Authority of India had identified a suitable plot at Panamaram area in Kaniampatta village in the district, an official spokesman said here.

Wayanad Package*Outlay Rs.2500 lakh


Wayanad is a distress district in the state and is the most backward district. In spite of various schemes implemented in the district, the basic problems are hindering the development of the district.

The agrarian economy of the district has been under distress in recent years. Wide fluctuation in prices has brought in high degree of instability in farm incomes. The State and Central Government have come out with intervention packages for the revival of the livelihood of the affected population. Wayanad suffered some economic and environmental shocks mainly from the sharp fall in the prices of pepper and coffee and a long period of unsustainable land use practices. The recent crisis of ginger due to price and disease problem further aggravated the crisis. The low prices of banana added another dimension to the crisis. Pepper is already in the declining phase due to the incidence of pests and diseases, loss of erythrina standards due to insect attack as well as declining productivity.

In order to revive the agrarian economy of the district, it is proposed to implement a cafeteria of focused intervention, with appropriate backward and forward integration.

The component wise break up is shown below.

Sl No Component Amount in.` lakh

1 Credit revolving fund for JLG Groups 200

2 Vegetable promotion 300

3 Value addition and marketing 500

4 Production of planting materials and organic inputs 150

5 Support for dairy development 300

6 Pepper rehabilitation 700

7 Support for critical gaps including farmer insurance 120

8 Project implementation unit 50

9 Purchase and development of four mobile clinics for door step service delivery 25

10 Village Resource & Counselling Centre 20

11 Support to District level consortium and voluntary sector 100

12 Entrepreneurship development including establishment of a training centre 25

13 Awareness programme 10


An amount of Rs.150 lakh set apart for the production of planting materials and organic inputs which will be provided to RARS, Ambalawayal and KVK to support the activities under the package. Out of Rs.700 lakh set apart for pepper rehabilitation, Rs. 30 lakh will be provided to KAU for the support of the sugandhi project. A project implementation unit will be set up in the district for the coordination of the project. The implementation unit will support PAO and District collector. The outlay of Rs. 50 lakh will be utilized to hire two senior experts in Agriculture, 10 VHSE trained people for field work, and two post graduates to support the unit. An amount of Rs. 20 lakh is set apart for implementing the village resource centre project focusing on livelihood security & counselling. The five existing village resource centres will be managed by MSSRF in association with the District administration. The functioning of the village resource centres will be restructured to suit the implementation of the package. The amount of Rs. 20 lakh will be provided to MSSRF for the management of the five centres. A committee under the PAO will oversee the functioning of the VRCs. All the farmers will be provided with Kissan credit card and soil health cards. An amount of Rs. 100 lakh is set apart for VFPCK for vegetable development and marketing.

An amount of Rs.200 lakh is set apart for establishing credit revolving fund for JLG groups to operate with co-operative banks for hassle free credit at 4 percent interest rate. The revolving fund will be managed in the VFPCK model by the co-operative. Separate rules will be evolved for the purpose.

In order to support the doorstep service delivery of farmers, four mobile clinics will be set up in the district with audiovisual equipments, technical materials, extension materials, technical equipments for diagnosis of pests and diseases. Diagnostic kits will be purchased for the clinics. Scheduled field visits will be arranged to reach the different panchayats of the district. KAU, IISR, Coffee Board, MSSRF and other institutions will be involved in the project.

An amount of Rs. 100 lakh is set apart for the projects implemented by the district level consortium and voluntary sector to support the project.

An amount of Rs. 25 lakh is set apart for entrepreneurship development programmes proposed for implementation through the Rudseti established by the State Bank of Travancore in Wayanad district. A training centre will be established by the department of agriculture for which Rs. 15 lakh is set apart separately.

The new extension project on LEADS will also be extended to Wayanad district to support the transfer of technology.

An integrated project will be prepared for approval. The ongoing projects supported under BRGF multisectoral development planning, JBIC, NREGS and other schemes will be considered, while integrating the project components. The Panchayati Raj institutions will be involved fully in the implementation of the package. Different technical support groups will be constituted to support the implementation of the package. The farmer clubs, samithies as well as other organized farmer groups will be involved in the implementation of the package. An academic institution will be involved for the monitoring of the package for which an amount of Rs. 5 lakh is set apart out of Rs. 50 lakh set apart for the project implementation unit. A special officer will be designated for the implementation of the package to provide support to the PAO and District Collector.