Darjeeling, 16th November: Darjeeling MP Raju Bista acknowledged Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar for including the establishment of a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Darjeeling District under the 2021-26 KVK Scheme.
In October 2021, the MP had informed the minister about the need to establish a KVK in Darjeeling district. He had mentioned that as the erstwhile Darjeeling district also included the Kalimpong Hills, a KVK was established in Kalimpong in 1993. However, now that the district has been bifurcated into two districts – Darjeeling and Kalimpong, the Darjeeling district doesn’t have any KVK as of today. He had highlighted that the establishment of a KVK in the district will go a long way towards capacity building of farmers, increasing production potential using assistive technologies, and supporting agriculture-related initiatives to improve the agricultural economy of the district.
Today, Bista received a communication from the Minister stating, “I would like to inform you that the provision for the establishment of a KVK at Darjeeling District of West Bengal has been made in the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC)-2021-26 for KVK Scheme. Further action will be initiated after the approval of the EFC for the period 2021-26.”
“I am most hopeful that given the need for augmenting agricultural expertise and farm-related technological infrastructure, the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of India will approve the proposal at the earliest. I will be following up on this closely, and assure our people that I will leave no stone unturned to ensure the strengthening of all institutions that will provide a platform for ensuring the overall development and growth of our region and people,” Bista said in a statement.