An artist giving final touches to Chau mask.
West Bengal Yet to Join Key Co-op Programmes
Bengal Cooperatives Trail in National Rollout: Amit Shah
New Delhi: The Union government said today that cooperative societies in West Bengal are yet to fully participate in several national initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation, even as the Centre rolls out an ambitious plan to expand and modernise the cooperative sector across the country.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah said the Ministry has launched multiple initiatives to strengthen Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), including diversification into activities such as Common Service Centres (CSCs), PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) and Jan Aushadhi Kendras to create additional income streams.
He said the government has also approved a plan to establish new multipurpose PACS, dairy and fisheries cooperatives to cover all panchayats and villages over the next five years. To further strengthen PACS, a computerisation project with a total outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore has been sanctioned to bring all functional PACS onto a common ERP-based national software and link them with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs).
According to the Minister, an assessment of West Bengal’s performance across major initiatives shows comparatively lower participation by cooperative societies, “indicating significant scope for further expansion.” The findings are based on data compiled in an annexure presented to Parliament.
The government said its cooperative schemes are uniformly applicable to all states and Union Territories. However, in the case of West Bengal, decisions are still awaited on several initiatives, including the setting up of PM Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Common Service Centres, PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras, Paani Samitis, petrol and diesel outlets, and participation in national cooperative institutions such as the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL). Registrations on the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) portals are also pending, which the government said is limiting access to benefits under these programmes.
“The Ministry continues to engage with the State Government to facilitate wider participation and effective implementation of these initiatives,” Shah said.
Data placed in the annexure showed that West Bengal lags behind many states across key indicators. The state has achieved 2 per cent of its target for forming multipurpose PACS, 9 per cent for dairy cooperative societies and 13 per cent for fisheries cooperative societies. While 79 per cent of sanctioned PACS in the state have been digitised, only 1 per cent function as Common Service Centres, and none operate as PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras.
In contrast, several states have recorded significantly higher progress on multiple parameters. For instance, states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have reported high levels of PACS digitisation and diversification, while others like Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have exceeded targets in certain cooperative formations. Jharkhand and Odisha have reported exceptionally high achievements in select categories, though performance varies widely across indicators and regions.
The annexure also noted that Kerala and Telangana are not part of the PACS computerisation project.
– global bihari bureau
