Giving information about the achievements of the department in the last four years, Secretary of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department, Abu Bakar Siddiqui said that Jharkhand is the first state in the entire country which has implemented the block chain system in seed distribution. This effort of the State has been discussed all over the world. Despite the drought, this year 1.30 lakh quintals of seeds have been distributed through the web portal. Under the Agriculture Loan Waiver Scheme, so far 8 lakh loanee farmers have been included in the Standard KCC. Till now, Rs 1858.3 crore has been distributed to more than 4 lakh 62 thousand farmers through DBT. With better performance in the field of milk production, milk collection has increased from 1.5 lakh liters per day to 2.5 lakh liters per day, whereas, farmers are being given Rs 3 per liter as incentive. About 38 thousand farmers have benefited from this scheme.
The secretary said that till now more than 45 lakh 45 thousand applications have been received under the Chief Minister Drought Relief Scheme. In this, till now Rs 478 crore has been distributed to more than 13 lakh 94 thousand verified beneficiaries. Working capital of Rs 8.8 lakh has been provided to 438 nodal LAMPS-PACS doing excellent work in the state.
So far, grant amount has been given to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries under the Chief Minister Livestock Scheme. 5454 ponds have been renovated and 3513 deep borings along with 8081 percolation tanks have been done in the state, whereas, 17320 pumpsets have been distributed. Mini tractors and power tillers have been distributed to 1784 farmers and self-help groups. Farmer helpline with 24-hour call centers has been started for the support of farmers. Initiatives are being taken to complete the construction of 25 cold storages in the state. In fish production, 2.95 lakh tonnes have been produced against the target of 3.30 lakh tonnes, whereas in 2018-19 this production was less than 2 lakh tonnes. Cage culture has been started in closed coal mines. 2.5 lakh farmers of the state have been registered on the e-NAM portal for agricultural produce trading and the facility to sell their produce from the farm itself has been developed. MoU with GVK Green Services for 236 veterinary ambulances will be signed very soon. 40 schools are being run in the state and selection of institutions for running new schools is in the process. The foundation stone of Gau Muktidham has been laid in Palamu. Work will be started in other districts soon. A target has been set to form FPO in every district in the next five years, in which provision of grant for working capital is being made.
Giving information about the Mines and Geology Department, Siddiqui said that the Sand Taxi Portal will be implemented in the state by March 2024 on the lines of Telangana State by Jharkhand Mineral Development Corporation. To the owners/citizens and consumers of tractor vehicles registered on the portal, the sand will be delivered to the destination within 48 hours of placing the order. At present 14 mineral blocks have been prepared for auction. Giving information about the auction of minor minerals, he said that for the first time in Jharkhand, according to the Jharkhand State Sand Mining Policy 2017, the process of auctioning a total of 351 sand ghats will be done by the Corporation through the Deputy Commissioner.
The Secretary said that a total of Rs 11,960 crore has been received in the DMFT fund, out of which Rs 5,978 crore has been spent on various development schemes. A total of three coal mines have been auctioned in 2023-24. Also, among non-coal mines, a total of 10 mineral block mines have been auctioned so far, which include mines of iron, gold, limestone and bauxite etc. To curb illegal mining, Mines Surveillance System for Minor Minerals is being implemented, which is satellite based. It is being implemented as a pilot project in Godda and Pakur in collaboration with MSS and JSAC.
Many officials of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department and Mines and Geology Department were present in the press conference.
