Union Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh parried almost all the queries during his interaction with media persons here on Friday.
Singh was here on Friday to recount the achievements scored by the Centre over the past two years. He failed to reply media queries on black money and 'acche din'.
To a query whether the Centre stands in the context of ushering in 'achhe din' as promised by the BJP in its manifesto, Singh shot back, "Do you think that the country is experiencing bad daysIJ That is for the Congress to allege." However, he declined comment on questions pertaining to black money.
Mentioning the campaign to rejuvenate the Ganga, he pointed out that the Centre had toilets constructed in 1,456 villages situated on the river's banks from Uttarakhand to West Bengal.
"That project commenced in 1984 with the then Government estimating the expense as in the vicinity of Rs 10,000 crore. No subsequent regime took the initiative as done by the present dispensation. The task cannot be accomplished in merely two years," the visiting politician averred.
launching a counter-offensive regarding the Congress charge that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance took credit for schemes actually launched by the predecessor United Progressive Alliance regime such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Singh said that the NDA Government overhauled the scheme and made it foolproof.
Fund allocation was enhanced from Rs 37,000 crore in the previous fiscal to Rs 43,000 crore in this time, he added.
When quizzed about the labourers not receiving their remuneration under MGNREGS, the Minister responded by saying that the Centre released Rs 12,000 crore including Rs 1,500 crore earmarked for Madhya Pradesh for the purpose last month. listing the Narendra Modi regime's accomplishments during the past two years, Singh said that the Centre set a target to complete laying of 40,000 km road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana at a cost of Rs 19,000 crore by 2019. He also mentioned rural electrification through traditional and unconventional energy, whereby power would be provided in 18,000 villages by that year.