Garhwal Post Bureau
New Tehri, 29 May: A grand Conference on Cooperatives was organised here, today, to mark the International Year of Cooperatives 2025. State Cooperatives Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat participated as the chief guest.
In his address, Dr Rawat highlighted the achievements and ongoing initiatives of the Cooperatives Department across the state. He stated that Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to provide 30% reservation for women in cooperative elections, and the state government aims to create 25,000 ‘Lakhpati Didis’ (women earning over Rs 1 lakh annually) in Tehri district.
He praised the cooperative banks and societies in Tehri for their excellent performance. From the stage, he specifically commended former District Cooperative Bank Chairman Subhash Ramola and other officials for their contributions.
Dr Rawat also felicitated three high-performing cooperative societies with certificates of appreciation. Under the Millets Mission, Tehri district ranked second in the state for millet procurement, with 1,664.910 quintals of Mandua (finger millet) purchased from 2,728 farmers through 30 procurement centres.
Top-performing societies in millet procurement were: 1st Place: Govind Darshan Jan Vikas Cooperative Society, Narendra Nagar – 2,815 quintals procured from 25 farmers. 2nd Place: Bal Ganga Farmer Producer Society – 2,000 quintals procured from 302 farmers. 3rd Place: M-PAX Mahad, Devprayag – 335 quintals procured from 372 farmers. As part of the event, interest-free financial assistance of Rs 69.5 lakh was distributed to Self Help Groups (SHGs) led by women to promote self-employment and economic empowerment. The Minister emphasised the government’s commitment to making women self-reliant through easy access to cooperative loans, noting that women are now emerging as the heads of their households.
During the conference, women also shared their personal experiences and views on empowerment through cooperatives. Several other speakers echoed the importance of women’s empowerment and cooperative development.
On this occasion, Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, MLA, Tehri, Kishore Upadhyay, former MLA Dhan Singh Negi, and Chief Development Officer Varuna Aggarwal planted fruit-bearing trees under the campaign “One Tree in Mother’s Name”.
Other dignitaries present included former District Cooperative Bank Chairman Subhash Ramola, Mandal President Naresh Panwar, former Mandal President Virendra Rana, and several departmental officials and employees.
