Barbershop Renovation Grant

What is the Barbershop Renovation Grant?

Barbershop Renovation Grant is a scheme of the Backward Communities Development Department (BCDD), Government of Kerala, that gives a traditional barber up to Rs 25,000 to renovate and modernise his shop. According to the department's scheme note, traditional barbers are among the most backward occupational groups in Kerala and struggle to keep pace with modern salons; the scheme is meant to strengthen them by improving the physical condition and the hygiene of their work premises.

BCDD states four objectives for the scheme:

1. To uplift the dignity of traditional barber communities by modernising their shops.
2. To improve the standard of living of the people in this profession.
3. To make public the government's concern for those in the occupation.
4. To improve public health by putting hygienic infrastructure in these shops.

The assistance is a grant, not a loan. Nothing is repaid. Implementation is monitored by the Regional Deputy Directors of the department, and applications are routed through the Grama Panchayats.

How much does the Barbershop Renovation Grant pay?

The financial assistance is 50 per cent of the total project cost of modernisation, subject to a maximum of Rs 25,000. The payment rules are:

• If the total cost of modernisation is Rs 10,000 or less, that is, the eligible assistance is Rs 5,000 or less. The amount is paid in a single instalment.
• If the total cost is more than Rs 10,000, the assistance is paid in two instalments: 60 per cent of the eligible amount first, and the balance 40 per cent after the work is completed and verified and certified by an authorised officer of the department.
• All payments are made through online fund transfer to the beneficiary's account.

The grant may be spent on instruments and furniture, on germ killers, sterilising instruments and disposable towels, and on works that ensure the hygiene of the existing shop.

Who is eligible for the Barbershop Renovation Grant?

You can apply if all of these are true:

• You are a permanent resident of Kerala.
• You belong to a State Other Backward Community of Kerala.
• You are a traditional barber and are still working in the profession.
• Your barbershop is in a rural area.
• Your annual family income from all sources is within Rs 1,00,000.
• You have a minimum of 10 years of work experience in the trade.
• Your age is not more than 60 years.

You cannot apply if:

• Your shop is inside a municipality or corporation area, since the scheme is restricted to rural areas.
• You are above 60 years of age.
• You have less than 10 years of experience, or have stopped practising the trade.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 1,00,000 a year.
• You are not from a community on Kerala's State OBC list.

Preference within eligible applicants goes to those working in rural areas and differently abled applicants, to shops with a seating capacity of fewer than three, to shops registered under the Local Self Government institution, to applicants with two daughters, and to those running the shop as self-employment. At least one beneficiary is selected from every Panchayat, and where more than 1,000 eligible applications come through the LSGD seniority lists, the number of beneficiaries is limited to 1,000.

How the selection marks work

The total is 100 marks. Where two applicants score the same, the person with the lower annual family income is preferred.

What documents are required for the Barbershop Renovation Grant?

How to apply for the Barbershop Renovation Grant

1. Wait for the notification. Applications for the year are invited through the concerned Local Self Government institution, so watch the Grama Panchayat notice board and the BCDD portal, bcdd.kerala.gov.in.
2. Collect the form and the certificates. Download the prescribed application form from the BCDD portal or collect it at the Panchayat office, then obtain the income certificate from the Village Officer, the community certificate, and the experience certificate from the President or Secretary of your Local Self Government institution.
3. Prepare a project report for the renovation. Because the grant is 50 per cent of the cost, the report should set out the items to be bought, chairs, mirrors, wash basins, sterilisers, storage — and the total cost.
4. Submit the filled form with all documents to your Grama Panchayat. Applications are not sent directly to the department at this stage.
5. The Panchayat scrutinises the applications, prepares a seniority list on the 100-mark parameters, and forwards eligible applications with its recommendation to the Regional Deputy Director of BCDD, Civil Station, Kakkanad, Ernakulam 682030 for Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam, and Civil Station, Kozhikode 673020 for Thrissur to Kasaragod.
6. Submit documents to the Regional Deputy Director on selection, then execute an agreement with the government on Rs 100 stamp paper. The first instalment is released on signing.
7. Complete the renovation within one month of receiving the first instalment, as per the project report. After verification and certification of the completed work, the final instalment is paid.

How do I check my Barbershop Renovation Grant application status?

1. Ask the Grama Panchayat whether your application cleared scrutiny and where you stand on the seniority list.
2. Once forwarded, quote the file number to the Regional Deputy Director's office at Kakkanad or Kozhikode.
3. After signing the agreement, watch your bank account for the 60 per cent first instalment.
4. Inform the department when the work is complete so that the verification visit and the 40 per cent final instalment are not delayed.

Why barbershop grant applications get rejected

• Shop located in an urban local body, the rural-area condition is absolute.
• No experience certificate from the LSGD President or Secretary, or one that does not state 10 years.
• Age above 60 years on the date of application.
• Income certificate above Rs 1,00,000.
• Missing photograph of the shop, which the department uses to judge the present condition.
• No ownership document or rent agreement for the premises.
• Work not completed within one month of the first instalment, which holds up the final 40 per cent.

Where do I get help with the Barbershop Renovation Grant?

• Your Grama Panchayat office, which invites and scrutinises the applications.
• Regional Deputy Director, BCDD, Civil Station, Kakkanad, Ernakulam 682030, for districts from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam.
• Regional Deputy Director, BCDD, Civil Station, Kozhikode 673020, for districts from Thrissur to Kasaragod.
• bcdd.kerala.gov.in for the scheme page, the government order and the application form.

Applying costs nothing beyond the Rs 100 stamp paper for the agreement. No agent can charge a fee to get your name into the Panchayat's seniority list.