Gandhinagar, Oct 12 (IANS) Three districts of Gujarat, Kutch, Dahod and Chhota Udepur, have received national awards for their performance under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana’, with Kutch recognised for governance and service delivery and the two tribal-dominated districts for improving irrigation infrastructure.
The awards were presented by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a ceremony organised by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in New Delhi on Monday, marking the completion of the scheme’s first year.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel congratulated the district administrations and Agriculture Department officials of Kutch, Dahod and Chhota Udepur on the recognition.
The awards highlight the importance of irrigation infrastructure in improving agricultural productivity, particularly in hilly and tribal regions such as Dahod and Chhota Udepur.
According to the state government, efforts by the district administrations to expand irrigation capacity, strengthen infrastructure and ensure adequate water supply to farmers have improved water availability for agriculture, contributing to gains in agricultural productivity and output.
Kutch was recognised for better governance and service delivery, while Dahod and Chhota Udepur received awards for their work in improving irrigation infrastructure.
The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 12 last year, covers 100 agricultural aspirational districts across the country that have potential for agricultural development but lag in productivity and economic growth.
The identified districts have relatively low agricultural productivity, moderate cropping intensity and below-average agricultural credit parameters.
With an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore, the scheme aims to improve agricultural outcomes through interventions across six key areas: increasing agricultural productivity; promoting crop diversification and sustainable agricultural practices; enhancing post-harvest storage capacity; improving irrigation infrastructure; expanding access to short-term and long-term agricultural credit; and strengthening governance and service delivery.
At the national-level review marking the scheme’s first anniversary, 18 districts were recognised for excellence across these six objectives.
Four districts of Gujarat, Kutch, Dahod, Chhota Udepur and Panchmahal, are covered under the scheme.
The recognition of three of them in the first year places the state among the participating regions whose districts have been acknowledged for progress in specific areas of implementation.
–IANS
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