Ranchi: Chief Minister Raghubar Das appealed to the farmers of Jharkhand to help the state government make Jharkhand cashless, open defecation free (ODF) and green. He was speaking during the �Cashless Jharkhand Krishak Samvad 2016� programme organized at Dhurwa, Ranchi, on Sunday.
The CM said the state government had set a goal to make Jharkhand a cashless state by 31st March 2017. In order to achieve the goal, Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhar and Mobile phones are a must, he said while abbreviating the three requisites as �JAM�.
�We need to make use of JAM to make our villages and panchayats cashless. By 30th December this year, 29 blocks of the state will come under the category of cashless blocks. Now it is time that the farmers take up this responsibility and help the state government turn Jharkhand into a cashless state,� said the CM.
Das said the government had dedicated itself to the task of bringing prosperity in the lives of farmers which in turn would bring happiness all over the state. He said the government was planning to make special provisions in the Budget of 2017-2018 for increasing the purchasing power of farmers.
�We will ensure cent per cent employment for the people living under Below the Poverty Line,� the CM said.
The CM addressed a large number of farmers, Matsya Mitras (fishermen), Gokul Mitras (dairy farm workers) and other peasants on the occasion.
The CM said the farmers should use and motivate others to use their Jan Dhan accounts, Rupay Cards and mobile banking facilities to ensure cashless status for Jharkhand. He said that resorting to cashless transactions will strengthen the economy and lead to savings up to 30 per cent. The savings will be utilized in the welfare of poor people, he said.
The CM said the government will be providing Rs 4 lakh to poor women to earn a living through poultry farming. Eggs from poultry farms will be supplied to village schools, he said, adding that the government was also planning to support dairy farmers in order to make Jharkhand independent in dairy production.
Appealing to farmers to help the government make the state ODF, the CM praised the class VI student of Jamshedpur who took out Rs 24,000 from her piggy bank to help construct two toilets in a nearby village. He said the toilets will ensure that women and girls do not have to go through the unsafe practice of going out of their households at night.
He administered oath to the farmers to get toilets constructed in their households in the next three months.
Also present on the occasion was state agriculture minister Randhir Kumar Singh. He said the agriculture department was constructing cold storage in 12 districts of Jharkhand.
Others present at the programme included Mandar MLA Gangotri Kujur, Chief Secretary of Jharkhand Raj Bala Verma, Development Commissioner Amit Khare and Agriculture Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni.
