The Uttar Pradesh government is setting up ‘Mati Kala Common Facility’ centres across the state, to provide quality training for production and marketing of finished goods to potters, artisans and craftsmen, all under one roof. The land for setting up Mati Kala centres has been identified in Pilibhit, Rampur, Firozabad, Muzaffarnagar, Kannauj and Barabanki. A centre is also being set up in Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, at a cost of 10 crores.
39,505 craftsmen families have been identified by the UP Govt.
These upcoming centres would train potters and artisans through the Mati Kala Skill Training Programmes (MKSTP) and financial assistance will also be made available, to make the artists self-reliant under the ‘Mati Kala’ scheme. As many as 39,505 craftsmen families have been identified by the UP government, of which 24,000 families were allocated a revenue lease for making arrangements for raw materials. Along with it, modern tool kits have been allocated to the artisans, to help them create designer clay products.
The state government has also helped the associated potters, craftsmen and artisans in availing financial assistance and 1,415 potters have already applied for loans under the scheme. The banks have handed out loans of Rs 265.93 lakhs to 142 beneficiaries and besides it, loans of Rs 98.03 lakhs have been disbursed to 71 units.
As per estimates, 1,402 potters have been trained under the MKSTP and till date, more than 2,000 beneficiaries have also been given modern machines and tools operating training and entrepreneurship development training. The government is making continuous efforts to retain the lost identity of the potters, artisans and craftsmen in the state through the ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme which aims at bolstering local talent.
