NABARD initiates Rs 713-crore infra development push for state

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is carrying out 73 development projects worth Rs 713 crore in Himachal Pradesh under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) during the current financial year.

Under these, two main projects worth Rs 311 crore include Rs 111 crore project for establishing 53 electric bus charging stations across 11 districts, including Rs 26.57 crore for 11 charging stations in Kangra district, and Rs 200 crore for setting up a state of the art automated milk processing plant at Dhagwar in Dharamsala.

The milk plant, with an initial processing capacity of 1.5 lakh litres per day (expandable to 3 lakh litres), is expected to give a major boost to the region’s dairy sector and generate substantial employment opportunities.

This was disclosed by Dr Vivek Pathania, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Himachal Pradesh, while presiding over a regional workshop on the RIDF — NABARD’s flagship programme aimed at accelerating rural infrastructure development — held in Dharamsala on Wednesday.

While reviewing ongoing projects in Kangra and Chamba districts, Dr Pathania said NABARD’s focus was on providing low-cost financial assistance to state governments for the creation of critical rural infrastructure. He urged executing agencies to expedite the submission of expenditure claims to ensure timely disbursement of funds and early completion of projects.

During the workshop, NABARD officials also demonstrated the digital RIDF portal designed to facilitate online submission of claims for quicker and more transparent release of funds.