Dehradun: Chief Secretary Mrs. Radha Raturi has sought a detailed report on the actual utility of the collection centers established across the state. She has instructed the concerned department to prepare a comprehensive report on the location mapping of all collection centers, their operational status, and how effectively they are being utilized at present.
The Chief Secretary gave these directives during the fourth High-Powered Committee (HPC) meeting of the Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (REAP) held at the Secretariat on Wednesday. During the meeting, she also approved the proposal for revising unit rates for wayside amenities and the construction of collection centers under REAP. Additionally, she approved the proposal from the Agriculture Department to make farmers self-reliant in producing certified seeds of mountain crops, pulses, and millets. She directed that the target of preparing 400 entrepreneurs in this field under the REAP project be achieved in a time-bound manner.
The Chief Secretary also approved the proposal to extend the global methods of bay leaf harvesting and value addition in Bhimtal and Okhalkanda blocks to prepare 500 entrepreneurs. Furthermore, she approved a total of INR 603.359 million for developing 728 entrepreneurs under goat breeding and value chain product development, preparing 300 entrepreneurs under Doon Silk Heritage Conservation with the assistance of the Silk Department, preparing 503 entrepreneurs through the establishment of mother units and rearing units for poultry farming, and preparing 402 entrepreneurs under mushroom compost and production units.
During the meeting, she also approved the proposal to train women as health workers for domestic animals and distribute 2,400 Pashu Sakhi Kits. The Chief Secretary further approved the proposal to distribute small and advanced agricultural/horticultural tools to 2,000 village organizations through national tenders, with instructions that a study report be prepared on how much these tools have reduced the workload of women.
The Chief Secretary emphasized that gender sensitization should be given priority in the implementation of all schemes. Additionally, she instructed the establishment of advanced IT infrastructure at the Cluster Level Federation (CLF) and directed that training in financial literacy and cybersecurity be provided to local people, especially women, through these federations.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Mrs. Radhika Jha, Mr. Dhiraj Garbyal, Additional Secretary Mr. Manuj Goyal, Mr. Vineet Kumar, and all Deputy Commissioners and senior officers.
