Pollachi coconut cluster project entailing ₹100 crore subsidy in pause mode

The Hindu Bureau

COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency (TANHODA), the Cluster Development Agency (CDA) for the Rs. 250 crore Pollachi Coconut Cluster project with 40% subsidy component, has requested the National Horticulture Board (NHB) for a re-look at guidelines for deriving the desired outcome, according to official sources.

The project announced during May 2025 could not progress as it warrants promoters to invest ₹150 crore as their share for realising the 40% subsidy benefit.

The project at the outset does not seem to be practical, according to coconut farmers in Pollachi-Anamalai belt.

Though the Horticulture Department had tried to rope in eligible entities: federations of farmer producer organisations, cooperatives/ societies, partnership firms, proprietorship firms, companies, State agriculture and marketing boards and federations and other public sector entities of Central/State governments, none had the capacity to invest such a huge amount, according to sources.

There was no progress though the department had also tried to identify promotors specific to each of the three verticals: pre-production and production; post-harvest management and value addition; and logistics, marketing and branding, sources said.

According to official circles, there is scope for intervention by the National Horticulture Board for fructification of the project. For instance, a provision could be in the project to bring in promoters for managing the sub-verticals, a senior official pointed out.

Farmers raised the issue and sought an update on the project during the monthly grievance redressal meeting recently.

The cluster was envisaged for development as a mega cluster that warranted bringing 15,000 hectares of coconut plantations under the ambit.

The Central Government had identified Pollachi Coconut Cluster among 12 such projects for implementation on a pilot basis, out of 55 horticulture clusters planned for establishment.