A workshop to flag the 100 days’ plan for implementation of the Van Dhan Scheme was organised by TRIFED of Ministry of Tribal Affiars in New Delhi yesterday. The workshop was inaugurated and chaired by Minister for Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda. Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Renuka Singh was also present on the occasion.The Van Dhan program workshop was organised for training of implementing teams of Van Dhan Yojana.Shri Arjun Munda appreciated the efforts of TRIFED team for the successful launch and acknowledged that the team’s efforts have been channelized in the right direction and were contributing significantly to the cause of tribal livelihood and income enhancement.The Minister emphasised that the Tribal groups are the rightful owners of the Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and we are only helping them claim their rightful value for the forest produce. The tribal groups are the guardians of some of the most important natural resources, like forest, rivers, and minerals, he said. Despite such invaluable efforts by the tribal community, they are still amongst the most deprived communities and it is the government’s duty to support them in their efforts. He advised the team to work with utmost passion for making an impact on the ground through successful implementation of the scheme. Shri Arjun Munda emphasized on the importance of networking and collaborating with stakeholders from public and private sectors to ensure maximum outreach for the scheme. He advised the team to work on the implementation roadmap with utmost accountability and as per timelines.
Smt Renuka Singh emphasised on the importance of this scheme for income enhancement and employment generation for the tribal communities. This scheme would be instrumental in bringing about impact at the community level for tribal groups, she explained.MD TRIFED, Shri Pravir Krishna thanked the dignitaries for guiding the team with valuable insights. He emphasized that Van Dhan Programme would be the priority and there would be selection of the best functioning collectives from LAMPs, Aajivika Missions, and JFMCs, for implementation of the scheme at ground level. He emphasized on the importance of a sustainable business plan & marketing strategy for successful business operations of Van Dhan Self Help Groups.As included in the 100 days’ program of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Van Dhan Karyakaram would establish 50,000 ‘Van Dhan Vikas Kendras’ in the tribal areas of the country to ensure livelihood generation, income enhancement and empowerment of tribals. The Scheme will have a coverage of 27 states and 307 predominant tribal districts across India. The Van Dhan Karyakaram will cover 50 non-nationalized MFP items with Minimum Support Price to provide fair and remunerative returns to the tribals. The scheme aims to set up and operationalize 3000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in FY 2019-20, of which 600 VDVKs will be established during the 100-Day Plan.