Governor Gulab Chand Kataria takes briefings of P&RD Department
Advocates for more awareness for popularizing the beneficiary centric schemes of the department
Guwahati, Rongili Barta- Assam Governor Shri Gulab Chand Kataria took a briefing of the activities of the P& RD department in the presence of its Minister Ranjit Kumar Dass in the conference hall of Raj Bhavan today where Principal Secretary of the department Dr. J.B. Ekka gave a detailed presentation of the activities and achievements of all the schemes of the department. The Governor said that he had already travelled 28 districts of Assam and witnessed the progress achieved by the department towards rural development. He expressed satisfaction that in some areas, the schemes made phenomenal progress and achieved more successes, while in others the successes are not as comprehensive as they should be. Therefore, the Governor sought more departmental intervention. Speaking about PM Awas Yojana, the Governor asked the department to set time bound targets and try to achieve the targets for the benefits of the people. The Governor also asked the department to make press briefing from time to time regarding the schemes that the department is implementing for the welfare of the people living in the rural areas. With regard to the Amrit Brikshya Andolan, where the state made an emphatic record of planting one crore saplings of the tress having commercial value, the Governor asked the department to engage people under MGNREGA to look after the plants at least for one year until they grow to a certain height. He also asked the department to depute an officer who will be exclusively dedicated to monitoring the implementation of the schemes at the block level. Moreover, the Governor also asked the department to engage the workers under MGNREGA for cultivating horticultural plants like papaya, banana, avocado and other cash crops as a pilot project as these fruits have high market value. The Governor also asked the department to study the life style change brought about by PM’s Awas Yojana among the beneficiaries who got better dwelling houses under the scheme. This is required to increase the magnitude of the scheme with regard to its access and reach. The Governor also asked the department to hold programmes at the rural areas and discuss the success stories of woman entrepreneurs of SHGs for generating awareness among the villagers. The Governor also asked the department to try raise funds through CSR and set up training centres for imparting skill training. The Minister of the department Ranjit Kumar Dass expressed happiness and thanked the Governor for taking a briefing of the department. He said that under the guidance of the PM, Governor and the Chief Minister, the department has been working diligently for the all round development of the rural areas and the people living there. The meeting was attended among others by the Commissioner and Secretary to the Governor S.S. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary to the Governor Swapna Dutta Deka, Secretary Panchayat & Rural Development Pushpanjali Das, Commissioner, Panchayat & Rural Development Jay Shivani, Mission Director, ASRLM Krishna Barua along with a host of other senior officials.