Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and climate change- Ashwini Kumar Choubey visited Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary and Neermahal in Sepahijala district on Saturday.
Choubey, who left the state for Guwahati on Saturday, held an important meeting with Tripura Forest Minister- NC Debbarma, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister- Manoj Kanti Deb, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar and higher officials at State Guest House on Friday.
In the meeting, Choubey took a thorough review of the Public Distribution System and Forest department.
Addressing the meeting, Choubey dwelt on commercialization of valuable timbers like Agar tree. He emphasized some simplifications in existing rules for taking Agar and other valuable timbers out of Tripura for commercialization. He said that his Ministry would also initiate proper steps to this end.
The MoS also inquired about Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). He commented, “Learned about the implementation of PMKGY. Tripura is doing better in food supply. The state is moving towards achieving self-reliance”.
The Union Minister of State praised the state government’s works in implementing development projects in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision. He said the state saw significant development after the formation of the BJP government.
In the programme, the MoS met the family members of two Foresters – Siddharth Banik and Bijan Kumar Bhattacharjee – who made supreme sacrifices for the preservation of Forests and wildlife. He offered condolences to the bereaved families and felicitated the family members of the two martyrs.
The Minister of State also had courtesy meetings with Governor Satyadeo Narayan Acharya and Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
Choubey took part in another programme at Baidyanath Majumder auditorium in Gandhigram where he inaugurated free rice distribution under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. In the programme, food packets were distributed among 150 beneficiaries, according to a government press release.
