CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL TO GIVE MORE POWERS TO PRIs DURING NEXT SESSION OF PARLIAMENT: VAJPAYEE

SPEEDY AND REALISTIC IMPLEMENTATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES STRESSED

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF DRDA PROJECT DIRECTORS INAUGURATED

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A Constitution amendment bill to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) with more financial powers will be brought in during the next session of parliament. This was announced by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while inaugurating the National Conference of Project Directors of District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs), here today. He said, experience has shown that without adequate administrative and financial powers, Panchayati Raj Institutions are unable to discharge the new responsibilities cast on them. Describing the 73^rd and 74^th Constitution Amendments as a historic step in the democratic decentralization, he said the Panchayats have limited source of income and as such they are unable to do justice to the responsibility thrust upon them. He said, the speedy and realistic implementation of the Rural Development schemes will change the face of the country.

The Prime Minister hoped that Project Directors must ensure that Rural Development programmes are strongly linked to the aspirations of the people. The PRIs should be fully involved in the planning and implementation of the programmes. At the village level Project Directors should encourage the Gram Sabha should be convened regularly to discuss and decide issues relating to the government’s rural development programmes. The Prime Minister regretted that some states are unable to spend money allocated to them depriving the people of its benefit.

The Prime Minister said that we do not want the Rural-Urban divide to widen. He said, the government’s effort is to provide drinking water in every school, road to all villages, more schools and hospitals. He said the widening rural-urban divide impacts on the quality of life in the cities also.

The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Shri K.C.Pant emphasized on the need for convergence of the schemes at the district and sub district levels to make them effective. He said, despite the fall in the percentage of people below poverty line, certain worrying factors have emerged like slackening of growth in employment and agricultural production reaching a plateau. We have to overcome this through a concrete effort to increase self-employment through schemes like Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY). He said, instead of adopting a paternalistic approach, DRDAs should establish a partnership with the people. He wanted the watershed development programmes to be implemented properly to help increase agricultural production and employment.

The Minister for Rural Development, Shri Shanta Kumar, said that the government will soon launch a new programme – Pradhan Mantri Grameen Jal Samvardhan Yojana (PMGJSY). A task force is working out its modalities and it would be launched before the end of this year. He said, three other programmes announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech will be launched on the 25^th Decenber this year. They include revival of one lakh traditional sources of water, installation of one lakh hand pumps in rural areas and provision of drinking water facility in one lakh rural schools. He said that DRDAs and Zilla Parishads are directly responsible for executing Rural Development Programmes and the Project Directors are ideally placed to provide feedback in respect of such constraints as may be encountered in the execution of the Programmes and connected issues. Shri Shanta Kumar emphasized upon effective implementation, people’s participation and ensuring accountability about the schemes and programmes at the grass roots level. The Minister pointed out that the diversion of funds from the Ministry will not be allowed.

Earlier welcoming the participants, the Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Subhash Maharia said that the conference provides, a useful platform for deliberations on a variety of subjects pertaining to implementing of the programmes at the field level. Highlighting the achievements RD schemes he said under Sampoorn Grameen Rozgar Yojana an amount of Rs. 2078.92 Crore and about 23.07 lakh tonnes of foodgrains have already been released to the States and Union Territories (UTs).

Shri Annasaheb M.K. Patil, Minister of State for Rural Development, said that, the feedback received from the PDs would provide valuable inputs to introduce requisite corrective measures so as to enhance the effectiveness of the Schemes.

Shri S.S. Meenakshisundaram, Secretary Drinking Water Supply and Shri M. Shankar, Secretary Rural Development were also present. More than Six hundred participants from different States and UTs are attending this conference.