Deputy Managing Director of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Goverdhan Singh Rawat, met CM Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at his official residence, Oak Over, today. During the meeting, Sukhu lauded the role of NABARD’s Regional Office in strengthening coordination with the State Government and ensuring timely resolution of key issues.
Emphasizing the State’s commitment to sustainability, the Chief Minister urged NABARD to include ground-mounted solar projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). He noted that such initiatives would empower Panchayats to achieve energy self-sufficiency and align with the State’s Green Himachal vision. He also advocated for the inclusion of electric buses under RIDF to further eco-friendly mobility.
Highlighting the distinct challenges faced by hill states, Sukhu called for separate criteria for annual NABARD allocations to the 11 hill states. He suggested that factors such as forest cover, ecological services, and greening efforts should be given weightage while determining state-wise disbursements.
He further sought NABARD’s collaboration in strengthening supply and value chains in Fisheries and Animal Husbandry to boost rural incomes. To streamline implementation, he advocated for greater flexibility for state governments to make project-specific modifications in NABARD-supported initiatives.
During the discussion, NABARD officials raised concerns regarding Section 118, which they said hampers the operations of cooperative societies. They proposed involving Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) in milk procurement and emphasized the need to accelerate the digitalization of PACS.
The Chief Minister assured that all inputs from NABARD would be carefully reviewed and integrated into the State’s developmental roadmap where feasible. He reaffirmed the government’s openness to innovative, inclusive, and sustainable rural development strategies. NABARD officials, in response, pledged to escalate the State’s suggestions to the highest level and work towards incorporating them into policy frameworks.
