Sahakar Bharati has engaged itself with the creation and strengthening of local cooperatives for realizing the mandate of Arth Ganga- a concept, propounded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for river rejuvenation leading to the growth of sustainable economic model.
On the behalf of Sahakar Bharati, its President D N Thakur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for achieving the vision of a sustainable and viable economic development by public participation, creation and strengthening of local cooperatives directing their cooperation towards realizing the mandate of Arth Ganga.
Talking to Indian Cooperative D N Thakur said, “Signing of MoU between Sahakar Bharati and National Mission on Clean Gange ( NMCG) is major step towards transforming the system of management of crucial natural resources like land and water by involving citizens. It will harness the development potential of ‘ Jal and Dhara shakti’ through active and effective involvement of ‘Jan Shakti’ . The development model is based on 4 G matrix i.e Ganga, Gau, Gram and Garib through cooperative principles” Thakur added.
Some of the major objectives the MoU include identification of 75 villages in five states on the main stem to be designated as ‘Sahakar Ganga Grams’, promote natural farming among the farmers, FPOs and Cooperatives in States along Ganga and generate ‘More net-Income Per Drop’.
Sahakar Bharati will also facilitate marketing of natural farming and organic produce under brand Ganga through creation of market linkages, promote people-river connect through economic bridge etc.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday presided over the event ‘Yamuna Par Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The event took place in New Delhi along River Yamuna in the presence of Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, D/o WR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, G. Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG and Ganji K.V. Rao, Director General, Tourism, Ministry of Tourism.
The event also saw various initiatives launched under the Arth Ganga campaign including the virtual launch of Jalaj initiative under Arth Ganga by the Minister for Jal Shakti at 26 locations out of the proposed 75 locations proposed during this year on the main stem of Ganga basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Jalaj is being implemented in association with Wildlife Institute of India. A trained cadre of Ganga Praharis have been created from among the local people by WII for biodiversity conservation and Ganga rejuvenation. Jalaj, an innovative mobile livelihood centre, is aimed at aligning the skill enhancement activities with Ganga conservation.
Jalaj is visualized as a model for livelihood diversification, through promotion of local produce and facilitates stakeholder participation in ecological and economic spheres for river conservation in line with “Arth Ganga” objectives.
The Arth-Ganga concept, espoused by the Prime Minister during the 1st National Ganga Council meeting in 2019 in Kanpur, is being developed into an economic model for sustainable river rejuvenation. At the helm of the Arth Ganga concept is people-river connect that aims to firmly establish a collaborative relationship between the river and the people.
