Need to Go Beyond Work Profiles to Strengthen Cooperation: Joint Secretary

Udaipur: An important meeting of the District Cooperative Development Committee was held on Wednesday at Sahkar Bhawan, Pratapnagar, under the chairmanship of District Collector Namit Mehta. The meeting was attended by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, Mr. Siddharth Jain, and Government Secretary, Department of Cooperation, Rajasthan, and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Mrs. Anandi. During the meeting, the activities of cooperative societies in the district were reviewed and necessary directions were issued.

Joint Secretary Mr. Jain stated that cooperation is a very broad subject with immense potential for growth. He noted that several cooperative societies across the country are doing impactful work by adopting innovative approaches. Emphasizing the need to strengthen the cooperative sector, he said that officials must go beyond their defined work profiles. He added that the role of inspectors should not be limited to inspection alone; instead, they should act as facilitators and service providers, offering guidance to cooperative societies. If societies progress, the Cooperative Department, Central Cooperative Bank, and Apex institutions will automatically become stronger.

Mr. Jain further observed that at the village level, farmers generally visit Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) only for limited periods, which should change. There is a need to promote additional activities at PACS to ensure regular footfall and sustained engagement with farmers. He issued directions to link PACS with the KUSUM Scheme, initiate e-Mitra services, establish more fertilizer and seed distribution centers, connect all dairy unions with the Central Cooperative Bank (CCB), and encourage PACS to undertake exposure visits to other states to learn about innovative cooperative practices.

Government Secretary Mrs. Anandi reviewed PACS activities in the district and issued necessary guidelines. District Collector and Committee Chairman Namit Mehta assured full support and all possible efforts to strengthen cooperative societies in line with the directions of the Joint Secretary.

The meeting included detailed discussions on various key points such as registration of model bylaws to make PACS multi-purpose, progress of PACS computerization, implementation status of PMKSK, construction progress of 500 MT warehouses, functioning of M-PACS as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), delivery of e-services through Common Service Centers and e-Mitra at PACS, membership of BBSSL, NCOL, and NCEL, establishment of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras, registration status and action plan for newly formed M-PACS, credit linkage of new M-PACS with DCCB, and revival of inactive primary dairy cooperative societies in the district.

The meeting was attended by Additional District Collector (Administration) Dipendra Singh Rathore, CEO Zila Parishad Riya Dabi, Apex General Manager Ranjit Singh Chundawat, RICEM Director Sanjay Pathak, Additional Registrar (Headquarters) Bhoma Ram, Additional Registrar (Cooperative Societies) Gunjan Chaubey, Joint Director Agriculture Extension Sudhir Verma, Joint Director Animal Husbandry Dr. Suresh Kumar Jain, CCB General Manager Mehjabeen Bano, Deputy Registrar Lokesh Joshi, NABARD Manager Neeraj Yadav, and other concerned officials.