Chandigarh Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said the State Government is continuously taking concrete steps for women empowerment. He directed that Vita booths should be allotted to women on a priority basis so that they can become economically self-reliant. He said locations for these booths should be identified soon, and up to 50 percent reservation in them should be ensured for women. Similarly, the process of formation and operation of women PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies) should also be accelerated so that rural women can be organized and made participants in economic activities.
The Chief Minister presided over a high-level review meeting of the Cooperation Department at the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh today.
He said all cooperative banks in the state should be equipped with modern IT facilities so that farmers and consumers can get transparent, effective, and timely services. He clarified that payments given by the government to farmers and subsidy amounts under schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi should be directly linked through cooperative banks. He directed that the process of registration of new PACS should be made simpler and more transparent. The Chief Minister said that sugarcane harvesting machines should be made available to farmers at low rent through cooperative sugar mills, which will reduce both labour and costs for sugarcane producers and increase production.
The Chief Minister also directed that the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the state should be increased. Locations for these centres should be identified near hospitals and health institutions so that the general public can easily get quality medicines at affordable prices.
On this occasion, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation Department, Sh. Vijayendra Kumar, Registrar, Cooperation Department, Sh. Rajesh Jogpal, OSD to the Chief Minister Sh. Bharat Bhushan Bharti, along with other senior officers were present.