Cooperation Minister Directs Officials to Expedite Process for Setting up Ethanol Plant in Panipat
Coordination Committee to Be Formed to Reduce Losses of Sugar Mills
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh–
Haryana is working with full dedication towards implementing the new cooperation policy of the Union Ministry of Cooperation. In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” and the guiding principle of Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah “Sang Chalen, Sang Badhen”, cooperative societies in Haryana will now enter the grain storage sector.
Taking concrete steps in this direction, Cooperation Minister Dr. Arvind Sharma has directed that the initiative be launched beginning with CM PACS and that interested cooperative societies be identified. He has also issued instructions to constitute a coordination committee at the earliest to revive state cooperative sugar mills and reduce their losses. The Cooperation Minister was chairing a review meeting held in the Committee Room at the Haryana Civil Secretariat, along with Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation Department, Vijayendra Kumar, and senior officers of all cooperative institutions.
Dr. Arvind Sharma said that the Central Government has authorized HAFED as the nodal agency for construction of warehouses for grain storage in the state and has approved the construction of warehouses with a capacity of 10 lakh metric tonnes. In this direction, HAFED has so far approved construction of warehouses with a capacity of 3.35 lakh metric tonnes, while proposals for 1.38 lakh metric tonnes have already been submitted to the State-Level Committee.
To ensure that cooperative societies make a meaningful contribution to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat – Viksit Bharat’ vision, CM PACS will also be provided opportunities in the grain storage sector. The Cooperation Minister directed officers to inform all registered CM PACS in the state about these opportunities and to facilitate their participation so that they can derive practical benefits.
To revive cooperative sugar mills and bring them out of losses, Dr. Sharma directed the Cooperative Sugar Mills Federation to prepare a special action plan. He said that a coordination committee should be constituted soon to inspect all sugar mills and submit a report with recommendations for reviving the mills.
Addressing the labour shortage faced by sugarcane farmers, the Cooperation Minister directed that, in coordination with the Agriculture Department, harvesting machines be made available on subsidy at the earliest. He also directed officials to expedite the process for setting up an ethanol plant in Panipat at a cost of ₹200 crore, and to submit a report on the feasibility of establishing ethanol plants in other cooperative sugar mills as well.
Dr. Arvind Sharma also reviewed the Chief Minister’s announcements and budget-related declarations pertaining to the Cooperation Department.