He underlined that convergence between Ministries, states, Panchayati Raj institutions and other stakeholders is critical for achieving shared goals for ensuring better ease of living and well-being for the rural population at large, and strengthening of Panchayati Raj system across the country.
“With the strengthening of local governance structures and harnessing the power of grassroots democracy, we can make our Panchayats the real key agents in rural areas,” he said.
Singh added that the rural economy holds considerable potential for economic growth and called upon Panchayati Raj institutions to contribute to making the rural economy stronger and explore possibilities for creating employment opportunities in rural economic activities. Through this, the country can also achieve the sustainable development goals at the village level.
The Minister suggested that steps can be taken in the direction of strengthening the economy of the villages through improving fruit production by fruit farming or growing of fruit crops in the villages through panchayats.
He said every panchayat has to work towards financially empowering the farmers by planting high-quality organic fruit trees on 20 per cent private land of their area.
Singh said the work of planting fruit trees can be given a boost through convergence with MGNREGA.
