The Ministry of Rural
Development has released Rs. 179 lakh to Chhatisgarh and Himachal
Pradesh as Central share of assistance under Employment Assurance
Scheme – Watershed Component under Integrated Wasteland Development
Programme ( IWDP).
While Dhamtari district
of Chhatisgarh gets Rs. 149 lakh and Bilaspur district of Himachal
Pradesh gets Rs. 30 lakh. These funds will be utilized for completion
of ongoing Watershed Projects, taken up prior to April 1, 1999
in the two districts. The expenditure on implementation of the
programme is to be shared on 75:25 basis between the Centre and
the State respectively.
The development of
wasteland and degraded lands under the programme is expected to
promote employment generation in the rural areas besides enhancing
the participation of people at all stages leading to sustainable
development of land and sharing of the benefits.
The Ministry has
also released Rs. 33 lakh under Desert Development Programme (DDP)
to Kutch district of Gujarat for planning and development of wasteland
projects.
