| Cardamom
is dried in traditional curing houses using
firewood as fuel. Sun drying is not popular
due to the loss of green colour during the
process.
As the productivity / production is registering
an upward trend year after year, the firewood
requirement is also increasing. As the wind
fallen trees are not enough to meet the
growing demand of firewood, the growers
are forced to meet their requirement of
firewood, either from the market or from
resorting to cutting trees leading to degradation
of forest cover. Moreover, wood is required
for the construction of new curing houses
especially for racks to spread cardamom
and to provide false ceiling in the .curing
houses to preserve the heat.
Few innovative growers have installed
cardamom curing systems using alternate
fuels, viz. Diesel, LP Gas which gives their
produce better colour and cost effective
drying. These driers are eco-friendly, labour
saving and easy to operate. The harvested
green cardamom can be put in to the drying
chamber of these new curing systems after
washing, instead of spreading it on the
trays as is practiced in the conventional
drying. The drying time is reduced from
28 – 36 hrs. to about 20 hours in
these driers. It is therefore imperative
to popularise the eco-friendly drying of
cardamom using alternate fuels among the
growers by providing suitable incentives.
At present, two new systems are available
for drying cardamom using alternate fuels.
In one system although diesel is used as
fuel, single phase electricity supply is
required to run the blower / fan. Therefore
a standby generator is required to overcome
power failures, which is very common in
cardamom growing areas. The system consists
of a burner, blower, heat exchanger, drying
chamber and a control panel. In case of
electricity failure, the system has warning
alarms. A room of a of 10' x 10' is sufficient
to house the drier.
In the second system, LP gas is used as
fuel. Single phase electricity supply is
required to run a blower / fan. A standby
generator is required to support the system
in the event of a power failure. The system
consists of a burner, blower, heat exchanger,
drying chamber and a control panel. In case
of electricity failure, the system has warning
alarms. A room of 22' x 11' is sufficient
to install this drier.
The objective of the scheme is to popularise
the above cardamom drying systems using
LPG/ Diesel as fuel among the small growers
by providing 33.3 % of the actual cost of
drier as subsidy subject to a maximum of
Rs. 1.00 lakh. Non-subsidy portion will
be met by the growers from their own funds
or through institutional finance.
Spices Board may prepare a list of approved
suppliers and upper ceiling cost for driers
of various capacities. In such case, the
driers have to be obtained from approved
suppliers and expenditure in excess of approved
rates shall not be entertained.
Area of implementation
Kerala, Tamilnadu & Karnataka
Eligibility
Registered small cardamom growers owning
a minimum of area of 0.40 ha. and maximum
area of 4 ha. are eligible for assistance
to install one drier under the scheme. The
capacity of the drier should be proportionate
to the expected production and shall be
verified by the officers concerned of the
Board before giving approval for availing
the benefit. Subsidy will be released after
satisfactory installation and physical verification
by Officers of the Board.
Procedure for implementation of
the scheme will be as follows:
1. Interested growers will submit the application
in the prescribed format with quotations
obtained from approved agencies supplying
the drier and accessories.
2. Field Officer of the Board will assess
the technical/ economical feasibility and
recommend the eligible applications to the
Asst. Director concerned for conveying approval
for fabrication and installation of the
drier.
3. The Asst. Director will issue permit
order to the eligible cases under intimation
to Regional J.D/D.D and H.O.
4. On completion of installation the matter
is to be informed to the Field Office of
the Board by the beneficiary submitting
bills/ invoice and Field Officer will physically
verify the installation and recommend the
case to the Asst. Director.
5. Asst. Director will inspect the case
recommended by the Field Officer for effecting
payment of eligible subsidy to the beneficiary.
6. Subsidy claims above Rs. 50,000/- and
25% of the driers installed in the region
has to be physically verified invariably
by the Regional J.D/D.D before recommending/
effecting payment.
7. Subsidy claims above Rs. 75,000/- and
10% of the installations are to be test
checked by an Officer from H.O. authorized
by Director (Dev).
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