Shimla, October 11 (IANS). Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said marriage, birth and death certificates issued by gram panchayats will soon be available online.
While presiding over the review meeting of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, the Chief Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to provide essential services to the people at their doorstep.
“The state’s economy can be strengthened only through strong rural development and successful implementation of various schemes is essential for this goal,” Sukhu said.
He said 344.31 lakh labor days have been achieved under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in 2023-24, surpassing the initial target of 275 lakh labor days.
A target of 300 lakh mandays has been set for the year 2024-25, out of which 214.51 lakh mandays have already been achieved. The Chief Minister also highlighted the state’s progress in making villages open defecation free (ODF) plus model.
“17,582 villages will be converted to ODF Plus model in 2024-25 and 9,203 villages have already achieved this status. Besides this, 2,347 villages have been verified as ODF Plus,” he said.
32 plastic waste management units have been constructed in various development blocks, out of which 26 units are already operational. These units will eventually be set up in all the development blocks.
CM Sukhu also highlighted the efforts being made under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) for women empowerment. The state has so far formed 43,161 self-help groups and provided financial assistance to them to promote economic activities.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh reaffirmed the government’s vision towards empowering gram panchayats and developing rural areas. He emphasized that coordinated efforts among various stakeholders are important for successful implementation of departmental schemes.
–IANS
RK/AKJ
