The Centre on Wednesday said that cooperative participation in West Bengal remains comparatively low across several flagship initiatives, indicating significant scope for expansion.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah stated that while the Ministry of Cooperation has rolled out multiple nationwide initiatives to strengthen Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), West Bengal’s participation has been limited in several areas.
The government has undertaken measures such as diversification of PACS into activities like Common Service Centres, PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras and Jan Aushadhi Kendras to boost income streams. It has also approved a plan to establish multipurpose PACS, dairy and fisheries cooperatives across all panchayats over the next five years.
However, the Minister noted that decisions are still awaited from the West Bengal government on key initiatives, including CSCs, PMKSKs, petrol/diesel outlets, and participation in national cooperative bodies like National Cooperative Organics Limited, National Cooperative Exports Limited and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited.
The Centre added that it continues to engage with the state to ensure wider participation and effective implementation of cooperative reforms.