Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Sunday, while appreciating the Gothan and Godhan Nyay scheme of the Chhattisgarh government, said that work of improving livestock conditions is being done through the Yojana by ensuring the participation of villagers.

“This initiative of the Chhattisgarh government is the best bottom-up approach in the country,” he said during a visit to Adarsh Gauthan in the village of Navagaon (L) in the Abhanpur block of Raipur district while scrutinizing the income-oriented activities conducted by women’s groups there.

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“Through this, we can not only get a better solution for farming and livelihood but also reduce the problems of decreasing fertility of the land due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. The availability of food items can also be improved greatly. Many problems like toxicity, damage to the environment and global warming can be reduced to a great extent,” Rajan added.

Appreciating the management of livestock care, arrangement of free fodder and water, health check-up, treatment and vaccination of animals in the Gauthan of Navagaon, he observed that the income-oriented activities like organic manure production, mushroom production, vegetable production at a large scale, oil distillation, fisheries, poultry, goat rearing etc. are conducted by women groups in Gauthan.

“The livelihood-oriented activities conducted in the Gauthans have proved to be helpful in providing economic support to the villagers during Covid-19. Under the Godhan Nyay Yojana, the purchase of cow dung in Gauthans for Rs 2 per kg and its use in the manufacture of vermicompost, super compost and farming is a commendable initiative by the state government. This will improve the fertility of the land as well as reduce the cost of agriculture and cut down the risk of food poisoning due to the use of harmful pesticides,” he said.

He said that the scheme of the state government is “an example for other states” of the country.

The scheme was launched by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in July 2020.