Money was offered in 2012, but was deposited only in March this year

A collective of handloom weavers has decided to return a government fund of ₹33 lakh, which it received after a seven-year wait, as a mark of protest against red tapism.

It was back in 2012 that the government voluntarily announced its intention to join hands with Charaka, a women’s multipurpose industrial cooperative society, and Desi, an NGO, to set up the Institute for Research and Development of Natural Dyes at Heggodu in Shivamogga district.

What followed were a series of bureaucratic hurdles. If alienating land for the institute took about two years, it took another three years to secure a no objection certificate (NoC) from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and around two years to get NoC from the Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat.

The money finally landed in a joint account only this March, with a set of riders. The institute, meanwhile, has decided that it has had enough and has decided to return the money.

In a letter dated June 6, 2019, Desi founder and theatre personality Prasanna wrote to the Development Commissioner Textiles, requesting him to take back the money. “We were elated when the government announced its intention to join us. After several years, ₹33 lakh has been released and it is sitting in a joint account. Citing one reason or the other, the government’s law has ensured that the money has not been released. We are tired of coming to the government repeatedly for the past seven years. Please take the money back and release us from this red tape,” he said in the letter.

Meanwhile, Desi has used its own profit and raised Corporate Social Responsibility funds to construct a building for the institute. The building is now nearing completion. The institute is set to be inaugurated before March 2020 as Charaka is celebrating its 25th anniversary currently.

The precipitating factor for returning the fund is that it was released for construction of a building as per the application made five years ago. Desi, which has already constructed the building, now wants to use funds towards setting of machinery and laboratory. However, the law does not permit it.

“This is a system problem. We are not pointing at any government or official for the current situation. When the government provides a red-carpet welcome to big industries with huge incentives, the traditional hand-made industry that offers huge employment opportunities locally and prevents migration is stuck in government red tape,” Mr. Prasanna told The Hindu. He said there is no single-window clearance system for the hand-making industry despite its potential.

Meanwhile, a senior official in Department of Handlooms and Textiles acknowledged the receipt of the letter. “We have already requested the government to waive the conditions laid down for the grant to be released. We are hoping this will happen soon,” he said.

Desi started work on the natural dyes techniques as it found the chemical dye unit polluting. It has worked on developing energy efficient furnaces that are used to prepare natural dyes. It has used raw materials such as supari to develop fabric dye and has also succeeded in bringing down the cost. The institute will be equipped with labs and trained people to conduct research on natural dyes.