Raipur: A cooperative society is being formed in every panchayat in the country to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of 'sahkar se samriddhi' (prosperity through cooperatives), Union Minister Amit Shah said here on Sunday.
Chairing a meeting in Nava Raipur on the expansion of the cooperative sector in Chhattisgarh, Shah, who holds the home and cooperation portfolios in the Modi cabinet, also said the state government must set up multi-feed ethanol production plants in its three cooperative sugar mills within the next six months.
"A cooperative society is being formed in every panchayat of the country to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi'," he said.
"Chhattisgarh has four cooperative sugar mills, of which only one has an ethanol production unit. On the same lines, multi-feed ethanol production plants should be set up in the remaining three cooperative sugar mills within six months so that ethanol can be produced from maize and sugarcane," he said while assuring the Centre's full assistance.
He also emphasized on an agreement between National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and the state for ethanol production so that farmers can be encouraged towards maize cultivation.
He stressed on the need to promote the cultivation of maize and pulses in Chhattisgarh.
Shah said the Chhattisgarh government should come up with a new public dairy scheme with focus on tribal development, adding the initiative should envisage Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) to work like multi-purpose units that also act as dairy and fisheries cooperative institutions.
With computerisation, every PACS must become a 'Common Service Centre' (CSC) so that benefits can reach rural masses, a state government release quoted Shah as saying.
All 2058 PACS of Chhattisgarh have adopted the Model Bye-Laws and the National Cooperative Database should be used to find the dry area in Chhattisgarh that will help in the expansion of cooperatives, the Union minister said.
There are a six District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs) in 33 districts of Chhattisgarh and at least four more should be established, he added.
"There should be cent per cent registration by PACS on NAFED and NCCF portal for the sale of agricultural products. It should be mandatory for every trader, PACS and cooperative society of every market to open an account in the DCCB," Shah asserted.
During the meeting, Shah also launched PACS to work as 'water committees' in all 33 districts of state, the release said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Chhattisgarh Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy CM Arun Sao, Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Cooperation Dr Ashish Kumar Bhutani and other senior officials were present.
Later, Shah launched 'Peepal for People' drive of the state government as part of the Centre's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign and planted a peepal sapling in the under-construction Vidhan Sabha complex in Nava Raipur, the release said.
More than 1 lakh big trees of local species will be planted under the 'Peepal for People' campaign in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, with 21,000 peepal saplings having been planted so far, it said.
The Union minister, accompanied by CM Sai, also dedicated various development works of the state government there, it said.
These include railway station, smart road, parking and smart school at a cost of Rs 204.84 crore under the Smart City Scheme in Nava Raipur, the release informed.
Earlier in the day, 31 youth from five Naxalite-affected villages near police's Palnar camp in Bijapur district met Shah, the release said, adding it was the first time these youth had visited state capital Raipur.