Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh has on Tuesday said that the Centre has approved the release of Rs 820 crore to drought-hit states to mitigate potable water crisis.
“Thirteen states have been hit by drought. Of them, 10 states have declared certain areas as drought-hit. Three others have not declared drought but they have also been affected. The Centre is extending cooperation to these states over potable water crisis and other issues," said Singh while replying to a query by media representatives from the Madhya Pradesh capital during a press conference held via video-conferencing from New Delhi.
He said that an amount of nearly Rs 1,700 crore pertaining to unutilised funds is available with these states, which have been allowed to make use of 10 per cent of this amount to take up works to meet exigencies.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is himself monitoring the drought situation. District irrigation plans are being prepared under the Prime Minister's Irrigation Scheme for drought-hit areas.
In response to another query over the payment of pending wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Birendra Singh said the Centre has released Rs 12,000 crore under the MGNREGS to all the states.
Earlier, Singh said the Centre is launching an 11-day campaign 'Gram Uday to Bharat Uday Abhiyan' in collaboration with various states. “The campaign will begin on the Father of Indian Constitution, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary on April 14. It will culminate on the Panchayati Raj Day on April 24,” he said.
The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister informed that the social harmony programme would be conducted in all gram panchayats from April with the objective of strengthening Panchayati Raj, promoting rural development and fostering progress of farmers.
The event will be organised jointly by the Panchayati Raj Ministry and the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry. The Prime Minister would inaugurate the campaign at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. On closing day, the Prime Minister would address all the gram sabhas in the country from Jamshedpur. The address would be telecast to various villages.