Amid farmers’ stir, Shivraj Singh Chouhan goes the extra mile, reaches out to states

An order to this effect was issued “with the approval of the competent authority” on December 31, 2024. The Agriculture Ministry has already sent written communication to all states and UTs in this regard, said sources.

This initiative comes months after Chouhan began direct consultations with state agriculture ministers and farmers soon after assuming office in June last year.

According to sources, around 18 senior officials, including advisers, commissioners, joint secretaries, and additional secretaries, have been assigned responsibilities of one or two states each. They will monitor agricultural issues and ensure smooth execution of schemes in their respective regions.

The sources said that Additional Secretary Dr Pramod Kumar Meherda has been assigned Maharashtra and Haryana, while Additional Secretary Maninder Kaur Dwivedi will be the nodal officer for Gujarat and Odisha. Additional Secretary Faiz Ahmed Kidwai was the nodal officer for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh before his appointment as director general in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

At the joint secretary level, Priya Ranjan, a 1998-batch Indian Forest Service officer of Rajasthan cadre will look after Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, while Muktanand Agrawal, a 2008-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, is the nodal officer for Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Samuel P Kumar, joint secretary, is the nodal officer for Assam; Ruchika Gupta, adviser, for Telangana; C F Joseph, adviser, for Kerala; Perin Devi, joint secretary, for Andhra Pradesh; S Rukmani, joint secretary, for Mizoram and West Bengal; and Franklin L Khobung, joint secretary, for Manipur and Meghalaya.

The sources added that apart from keeping a tab on the issues of their respective states, these nodal officers are also expected to accompany Chouhan during his state visits, ensuring seamless coordination and effective policy implementation, sources said. Chouhan’s step aims to proactively engage with the states.

Chouhan had earlier started holding consultations with states. He has already held several one-on-one meetings with the agriculture ministers of states including Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand even as farmers, mainly from Punjab, have been protesting at the Haryana border since February last year.

Meanwhile, Monday’s meeting of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders with the two farmer bodies leading the protest remained inconclusive on holding a joint agitation against the Centre. The outfits have decided to meet again on January 18.