Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 (IANS) Financial allocation for the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGS will be increased in the new fiscal, union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said Tuesday.
This was the second meeting on the issue and the third and final will take place in Patna later this month, he told reporters here, after a meeting with six state ministers.
"Once that (meeting) is over, we will look into all the suggestions that have been made and would look at what needs to be done to make it better. For this fiscal year, Rs.34,000 crore was set aside for the scheme and for the next fiscal this will go up further," he said.
He also said that more departments, including agriculture, irrigation and forestry, will be linked to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to make it more effective.
"The ministers put forward their requests. While some of them spoke about modifying the scheme to make it more flexible, others requested to increase the present 60:40 labour to material component to create quality assets," he said.
The rural development minister ruled out speculations that the total number of blocks that this programme cover would be reduced.
"Nothing of that sort (reduction) will happen. About 2,500 blocks in the country, where development is suffering, will get more attention. The remaining 4,000 blocks would run this programme as it is," he said.
Kerala Minister for Rural Development K.C. Joseph said this was for the first time since the scheme was launched that the central government had given a positive response.
"We have put forward that the scheme should have changes to include segments like animal husbandry, and traditional industries like handloom and coir. Not only can employment be generated through the scheme but also the production in these sectors," said Joseph.
MGNREGS has seen about Rs.2,000 crore being pumped into Kerala in the past three years.
Turkey stuck on NATO's plan against Russia, condition for entry was placed before Sweden
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join the NATO alliance on 18 May. Turkey is furious with t
New Delhi. The second wave of coronavirus in the country has gone out of control. According to th
India Inc. seeks speedy disposal of coal block cases
Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) India Inc. on Thursday sought a s
Arpita Mukherjee's troubles are increasing in the West Bengal teacher scam. The Enforcement Direc
Now there are signs of tension between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IM
Realme GT 5G smartphone specifications and price leaked, this phone will compete
Chinese mobile phone company Realme is ready to launch its Realme GT 5G smartphone. It has alread
Rajnath Calls for Radio Stations in Border areas
New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) Home Minister Rajnath Singh Friday asked the Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB) t
In the last two years, there has been a 20% increase in the cases of execution of criminals world
Punjab sets up Bureau of Agriculture Promotion
Chandigarh, Feb 17 (IANS) Having been at the forefront of the 'Green Revolution' in the agricul
Just one more... then I will not bring any BJP MLA in SP: Akhilesh Yadav
BJP, including SP, BSP has also released the first and second list of candidates for the assembly
