DHARAMSALA, Oct 18 — The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has rolled out 73 development projects worth ₹713 crore in Himachal Pradesh under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the ongoing financial year, officials said on Wednesday.
Two major initiatives — together costing ₹311 crore — form the core of this push: a ₹111-crore project to install 53 electric bus charging stations across 11 districts, and a ₹200-crore plan to establish a state-of-the-art automated milk processing plant at Dhagwar in Dharamsala. The Kangra district alone will receive ₹26.57 crore for 11 of the planned charging stations.
The upcoming milk processing facility, designed with an initial capacity of 1.5 lakh litres per day and scalable up to 3 lakh litres, is expected to strengthen the region’s dairy industry and create substantial local employment.
Disclosing the details at a regional workshop on RIDF in Dharamsala, NABARD’s Himachal Pradesh Chief General Manager, Dr. Vivek Pathania, said the programme aims to accelerate rural infrastructure growth across the state. “Our focus is to provide low-cost financial assistance to the state government for developing essential rural infrastructure,” he noted.
While reviewing ongoing projects in Kangra and Chamba districts, Dr. Pathania urged implementing agencies to expedite the submission of expenditure claims to ensure timely disbursement of funds and early completion of works.
During the workshop, NABARD officials also showcased the digital RIDF portal — a new platform designed to streamline online claim submissions, enabling faster and more transparent release of project funds.
