Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Launches 'Samriddh Vidisha Model' to Make Vidisha Poverty-Free

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched the 'Samriddh Vidisha Model' on Saturday during his visit to his parliamentary constituency, Vidisha. The primary objective of this model is to make every village in the Vidisha district poverty-free and to increase the income of rural families.

Mr. Chouhan stated that for rural prosperity, it is essential for every family to have two to three sources of income. Under this model, small farmers will be provided with alternative livelihood sources by integrating them with modern agriculture as well as animal husbandry, including the rearing of cows, buffaloes, goats, poultry, and beekeeping. Additionally, efforts will be made to create a larger number of 'Lakhpati Didis' by engaging women in various activities. He emphasized that merely increasing production is not enough; farmers' incomes will be boosted by connecting them to collective sales, processing, packaging, and marketing through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).

Special focus is being placed on making youth and women self-reliant through this project. Mr. Chouhan mentioned that the goal is to connect 15,000 youth from the Vidisha district to livelihood and employment opportunities. Through RSETI, daughters and youth are being provided with skill training in areas such as beautician courses and tailoring. Following the training, support will be provided to help them secure bank loans so they can start their own businesses.

To ensure effective monitoring of development work, a 'Vidisha Development Index' will be developed and a real-time dashboard will be created. Under this system, reviews will be conducted every six months at the Gram Panchayat, Janpad, and block levels based on parameters such as water, employment, farmers' income, skills, and marketing. The campaign will involve cooperation from the Government of India, the state government, district administration, panchayats, and non-governmental organizations. The Union Minister directed that proposals for action plans to make villages poverty-free be passed during the Gram Sabhas on the upcoming October 2nd.

During his visit, Mr. Chouhan offered prayers at the Ganesh temple in Baadh and participated in the Ganesh Utsav organized at Vatsalya School. Inspiring the students, he announced that laptops would be provided to students who perform exceptionally well in the 10th and 12th grades, and coaching classes for competitive examinations would be operated.