'Swayam' project to encourage poultry farming in tribal areas

The Maharashtra Cabinet today approved a project named 'Swayam' that is aimed at encouraging poultry farming in the tribal areas of the state.
Through the project, the government plans to eradicate malnutrition among children in the tribal sub plan areas, as poultry farming will raise the availability of eggs, which would be included in the meals of anganwadi children, an official statement said.
Anganwadis are government-run nursery schools for children in tribal areas.
The project would also generate self-employment opportunities for the tribals, an official statement said.
The project will be implemented over a period of two years.
The 'Swayam' project will be implemented in 16 districts - Thane, Palghar and Raigad (Konkan division), Pune (Pune division), Nashik, Ahmednagar, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Dhule (Nashik), Amravati and Yavatmal (Amravati division), Nagpur , Gadchiroli, Gondia, Chandrapur (Nagpur), Nanded (Latur division), the statement said.

About 43,368 families will benefit from the scheme. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 22.55 crore and it would be implemented in the years- 2017-18 and 2018-19.