Shimla, Sept 14 — Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday urged the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to bring ground-mounted solar projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), saying such initiatives would enable panchayats to become energy self-sufficient and advance the state’s “Green Himachal” vision.
Meeting NABARD Deputy Managing Director G.S. Rawat at his official residence, Sukhu also called for the inclusion of electric buses in RIDF support. “Himachal is a hill state with unique challenges. We need separate norms for allocation, taking into account factors like forest cover, greening efforts and ecological contributions,” the Chief Minister noted.
Sukhu asked NABARD’s delegation to help the State Planning Department in strengthening supply and value chains in fisheries and animal husbandry. He said robust farm-to-market systems were vital to improving farmers’ incomes. “We need to reform long-standing procedures and give states greater flexibility to make project-specific changes during the execution of NABARD-approved programmes,” he added.
During the meeting, NABARD officials raised concerns about hurdles faced by cooperative societies under Section 118, which restricts their functioning in Himachal. They proposed assigning milk procurement to Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies instead of setting up new units and urged the government to expedite the computerisation of existing societies.
The Chief Minister assured the visiting team that the state would consider their recommendations carefully. “Suggestions that are practical and beneficial will be integrated into our development strategy,” Sukhu said.
NABARD officials, in turn, promised to escalate the Chief Minister’s proposals to higher levels in the organisation and explore ways to integrate them into future guidelines.
