Vidisha, Sept 19: Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday outlined a development plan aimed at making villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district poverty-free by expanding livelihood opportunities for rural families.During his visit to Vidisha, Chouhan interacted with women beneficiaries, including ‘Lakhpati Didis’, and participated in a meeting on the district’s proposed development model.
He said the objective of the initiative is to help rural households build multiple sources of income rather than depend on a single livelihood.Under the ‘Samriddh Vidisha Model’, small and marginal farmers would be encouraged to combine agriculture with activities such as dairy farming, goat rearing, poultry, beekeeping and other allied sectors.
The initiative also proposes greater support for women to expand their incomes and increase the number of ‘Lakhpati Didis’.Chouhan said increasing production alone would not be sufficient to raise rural incomes. Farmers and rural producers would also be linked with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for collective marketing, processing, packaging and sale of their products.
The programme envisages coordination among the Central and state governments, district administration, panchayats and voluntary organisations. Financial institutions and corporate social responsibility initiatives are also proposed to be brought into the development effort.The minister said skill development and access to credit would form an important part of the programme.
Training is being provided through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) in areas such as tailoring and beauty services. The government aims to connect around 15,000 young people in Vidisha with livelihood and employment opportunities.
According to the plan, trainees interested in starting their own businesses would be assisted in obtaining bank loans after completing their skill courses. Chouhan said training batches would continue regularly to provide more young people and women with employment-oriented skills.The proposed development framework also focuses on integrating various government programmes related to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, rural development, panchayats, water resources, skill development and livelihood missions.
Chouhan called for village-level plans for poverty reduction and development to be discussed during Gram Sabhas. Self-help groups, village organisations, FPOs and elected panchayat representatives would participate in planning, implementation and monitoring.
A real-time dashboard is proposed to track progress in the district. The government also plans to develop a ‘Vidisha Development Index’, using indicators such as water availability, employment, household income, women’s economic participation, farmers’ earnings, skill development, processing and marketing.The minister said development would be reviewed every six months at different administrative levels.
Community feedback through Gram Sabhas would also be considered while assessing the performance of local bodies.During his visit, Chouhan also attended a Ganesh festival programme at Vatsalya School in Vidisha and interacted with students.
He encouraged them to focus on education while also participating in sports and other activities.He emphasised the importance of respecting parents and teachers and said that helping others and doing good work should be regarded as an important part of one’s responsibilities.Chouhan also announced support measures for students, including laptops for those performing well in Classes 10 and 12 and coaching facilities for competitive examinations after Class 12.
The minister said the Vidisha initiative would serve as a new approach to combining livelihood generation, skill development, rural infrastructure and community participation, with the possibility of applying lessons from the model in other parts of the country.
