Minister spells out NE development mantra

SHILLONG: Union Minister of Rural Development Chaudhary Birendra Singh on has stressed on proper implementation of the Central schemes namely Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for fast development of the Northeastern region.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Singh mentioned that earlier there were problems of funding for projects in the NE states but the Centre now has special funds to ensure that the schemes are implemented without any hitch.
“Role of the state government is also of utmost importance in implementation of these rural schemes,” he said adding that nine states have been benefitted from PMGSY and achieved complete road connectivity of the rural areas.
According to him, construction of roads in the NE region costs the Central Government double the amount of constructing road in plain areas.
Reacting to a query, if the Centre intends to have strict guidelines since the Northeastern state are not faring well in the implementation of the Central schemes, Singh said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that the Union Government is working as Team India. Therefore, the Union Government does not want to put any condition on any of the states even though there are certain guidelines which the states have to follow.”