How masks have become a money-spinner for Haryana govt
CHANDIGARH: With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, wearing face masks has become the new normal, besides an unconventional money-spinner for Haryana government agencies in times of economic slowdown.
Since the state government on May 27 ordered imposition of ₹500 penalty for anyone violating the orders to wear masks in public and workplace, it has made good earnings both by way of imposition of penalty on violators and production of masks.
The state police issued about 37,000 challans between June 5 and June 22 for mask violations, earning a revenue of ₹1.86 crore in the process. The urban local bodies department earned over ₹32 lakh in the past 21 days by penalising over 10,000 violators. “The municipal bodies are also ensuring that every violator penalised is given five masks at the time of challaning,” said an official.
EARNING THROUGH MASK PRODUCTION
With government also encouraging its institutions to get into cloth mask production to provide income to SHGs and ITIs, the mask production business is on a high. About 4,800 SHGs working under the State Rural Livelihood Mission are into bigtime mask production and have earned a profit of ₹1.37 crore by making about 45 lakh cloth masks. “The SHG members get ₹3 per mask produced as profit,” said a rural development official.
The skill development and industrial training department, which runs the ITIs too has gone into production of masks. “The ITIs have produced over 3.45 lakh cloth face masks – both single and double layer. The single layer masks costs ₹10 while the double layer is priced at ₹16. We have already sold masks worth ₹21 lakh and earned a profit of over ₹2 lakh,” said an official. “Since ITIs run relevant trades like sewing technology, dress making, fashion design, the government decided to start masks production in ITIs. An honorarium of ₹3 per mask was paid to the trainees and ITI passouts engaged in mask production,” said an official.