Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday launched 1,542 Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Cooperatives (PACS) in the state at a programme organised at the Convention Center of Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
It is worth noting that while there are a total of 2,711 PACS in the state, the state government has formed 1,542 new Multipurpose PACS (MPACS). This brings the total number of PACS in the state to 4,253.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the state government is giving priority to implementing various new programmes in accordance with the Cooperative Department of the Central government to make the cooperative movement people-oriented. A total of 54 programmes have been taken up.
Some of the important programmes include the introduction of model by-laws to diversify PACS and LAMPCS; cleanliness and strengthening of PACS through computerisation, supply of fertilizers and seeds, setting up of public medicine centers and common service centers, setting up of agricultural service centers, setting up of consumer stores, setting up of scientific grain storage centers etc.
In this context, the Chief Minister announced that the state government has decided to develop 77 PACS as model PACs in the first phase. These model PACS will act as a One-Stop Shop, meaning all types of agriculture-related facilities will be available under one roof, he said.
The Chief Minister hoped that Model PACS and LAMPCS would empower the cooperatives.
The Chief Minister announced that the state government has decided to return the deposits to all the depositors of Bhubaneswar Urban Cooperative Bank, which has been closed since 2015. He said that this will help in re-establishing people’s trust in the Co-operative Bank.
Stating that the new government is committed to making the cooperative sector efficient and vibrant, the Chief Minister said that efforts will continue to restore people’s trust in cooperatives and make them a major engine of rural economic development.
The Chief Minister said that cooperative organisations should focus on solving the problems of farmers and do real-time settlement of their problems. Otherwise, there is no point in computerisation. Many organisations are still uploading their calculations in Excel Sheets but this will lead to corruption. Therefore, the Chief Minister ordered to audit of the accounts of all primary cooperatives.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has introduced many schemes for farmers, animal husbandry, fisheries, housing, textile industry and women. The delivery of this plan to the beneficiaries is done by organisations like Primary Agriculture Cooperatives, or LAMPCS (Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Society).
He said that cooperative societies have an important contribution to the agriculture sector of Odisha. Odisha is perhaps the only state where more than 60 per cent of total crop credit is disbursed through cooperative banks and commercial banks disburse about 30 per cent.
Advising the farmers to repay loans on time, the Chief Minister said that for the past few years, there has been a practice of ever-greening in the name of loans. Hopefully, this is no longer happening now, and farmers are getting loans.
To take the co-operative movement to a higher level in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi created a special Co-operative Ministry and appointed Amit Shah as the first Union Co-operative Minister as both Modi and the Home Minister are very experienced in the cooperative movement. Under his leadership, the cooperative movement in Gujarat reached a new peak. We also need to take inspiration from Gujarat and take the cooperative movement home to home, the Chief Minister said.
He said that more than 90 per cent of the agricultural families of our state are provided with various services for agricultural work through Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperatives.
Opining that OMFED has become a backbone for dairy farmers in the state, the Chief Minister said that a decision has been taken in the state Cabinet to implement Go-Mata Yojana along with Kamdhenu to empower the dairy farmers.
The Chief Minister said that the cooperative movement in Odisha will be transformed into a mass movement in the spirit of Modi like Gujarat.
On this occasion, an agreement was signed for the development of the Gopalpur Cooperative Training Centre. The Chief Minister also distributed Micro ATM and Rupay Cards to the members of some cooperative societies.
