Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said time has come when people can turn the waste into wealth by its proper utilisation.
After kicking off the Sanitiation and Water Conservation Drive of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) here, Gadkari said eradicating the demons of poverty, hunger and unemployment will remain a mirage unless the villages are economically, socially and ecologically empowered.
The KVIC has adopted Qutab Garh under its Swachchhata Abhiyaan. Besides maintaining the cleanliness of this village, the KVIC officials would also take care of the progress of deepening of ponds work there. Last year, the KVIC had adopted Jagatpur village of Eastern Delhi and cleanliness drive is still in operation there.
Laying stress on the need of proper water management system, he said, “Our country does not have the dearth of water, but we are lagging in managing the water,” he said.
“Main aap sabse kheta hoon ki paani ka niyojan seekhiye. Daudne wale paani ko chalayiye, chalne wale paani ko rokiye aur ruke huye paani ko jameen ke andar jaane dijiye (I request you all to learn the art of planning the water. Force the running water to walk, walking water to slow down and permit the stopped water to go into the earth),” he said.
Appealing the villagers to divert the agricultural yields into power and plastic sector, Gadkari said by selling toilet waste water to power generating companies, the Maharashtra Government had so far earned over Rs 2 crore. “One can produce one tonne of bio-CNG by burning five tonnes of parali (crop resudues). Very soon five districts of Vidarbha region will be free from diesel,” he said.
Applauding KVIC’s efforts on ‘Honey Mission’ Programme, the MSME Minister also appealed the villagers to give up using chemical fertilizers in their fields. “It will be an add-on to both farming and bee-keeping,” he added.
Minister of State for MSME Pratap Chandra Sarangi also appreciated the innovative efforts taken up by the KVIC in the recent past.
“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the true conscience-keeper of Gandhian philosophy of self-discipline and self-reliance, unlike the previous governments using Gandhi as their pollical tool to taste the fruit of power.
That is why, what Khadi has done in last five years is much more than its achievement in 60-odd years before Modiji,” he said.
Earlier, KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena welcomed the dignitaries and appraised them about different Khadi activities, including Honey Mission, Kumhaar Sashaktikaran Mission and deepening of village ponds in Qutubgarh. He also said that in the current fiscal, all the State Offices of KVIC had been asked to adopt one village in their respective areas, where sanitation and water conservation drive could turn it into the model ones.
New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, her Shimla counterpart Suresh Kashyap and MSME secretary AK Panda were also present on this occasion.