AGARTALA, Jan 5 (TIWN): Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Nihal Chand on Tuesday attended an interaction session with the Minister of Panchayats and Rural Development Manik Dey at Pragna Bhawan.

Reportedly, the interaction took place with the Minister Manik Dey in the presence of Elected Representatives of PRI bodies and 6th Schedule Areas and Officers of Panchayat and Rural Development Department.

Besides, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to arrive in the state by Tuesday evening.

According to the schedule, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj is expected to visit various work sites of horticulture plantation under MGNREGA in Shibnagar ADC village.

He will also visit Kathirambari Village Committee under Mandwi RD Block in West Tripura District.

Besides, it is expected that an interaction session will be organized with the tea cultivators through MGNREGA.

Work sites of bamboo plantation, tea cultivation, excavation of ponds, and cluster of houses will also be visited by Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj.

However, to observe works carried out under MGNREGA, Union Minister Nihal Chand is also expected to visit Uttar Majlishpur Gram Panchayat under Jirania IP in West Tripura District.

It is to be mentioned here that Nihal Chand is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He has been elected as a Member of Parliament four times from the Ganganagar constituency.

Subsequently, Nihal Chand won the 1999 and 2004 general elections from Ganganagar as a BJP candidate. In 2008, he lost the Assembly elections to Daulat Raj of Congress from Raisinghnagar by a margin of 5042 votes.

In 2009, he lost the general elections to Bharat Ram Meghwal of Congress. He defeated Bhanwarlal Meghwal of Congress on the same seat in 2014. He was made a Minister of state (MOS) in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.