Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a PRAGATI meeting to review the progress of seven key projects which included two projects relating to road connectivity, two rail projects and one project each of the Coal, Power and Water Resources sectors, having a cumulative worth of around Rs 76,500 crore. All these projects are related to 11 States and UTs viz., Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. This was the first meeting in the third term.

Prime Minister Modi emphasized the fact that every official in the government, at Central or State level, must be sensitized about the fact that delay in projects not only leads to cost escalation but also deprives the public of the intended benefits of the project, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.

Prime Minister Modi earlier on Wednesday chaired the meeting of the 44th edition of PRAGATI, the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving the Centre and state governments. This was the first meeting in the third term.

Prime Minister Modi said that the ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’ campaign can help safeguard the environment while undertaking project development.  During the interaction, the prime minister also reviewed AMRUT 2.0 and public grievances related to Jal Jeevan Mission.

These projects together inter-alia address water issues in the urban and rural areas. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that water is a basic human need and quality disposal of grievances at the district level as well as state level must be ensured by the state governments, according to the statement.  Adequate Operation and Maintenance mechanism of Jal Jeevan projects is critical for its success and the prime minister suggested involvement of women self help groups where possible and skilling of youth in Operation and Maintenance works, the statement said.