JAIKA project to boost economy, says minister

NURPUR, April 4

Forest, Youth, Services and Sports Minister Rakesh Pathania while presiding over the district level Jan Manch program organized in Sukhar Panchayat near here on Sunday said the Japan International Cooperative Agency (JAIKA) project launched in Kangra district on April 1 would play an important role in boosting the economy of the people and enhance forest area in the district. Rural committees would be constituted and 30,000 women would get special training to start self-employment ventures.

The minister said with the cooperation and active participation of these committees, forest nurseries would be developed. In the first phase of this project, Nurpur, Dharamsala, Palampur and Dehra forest divisions were selected where emphasis would be laid on raising the livelihood opportunities of the people and providing self-employment by forming self-help groups. The Forest Department was also going to start a new nursery wing that would ensure availability of high-quality saplings. —