By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 3 Jan: The state’s Rural Development Minister Ganesh Joshi participated in a meeting related to rural development, chaired by Union Minister of Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, through video conferencing on Friday. The meeting, held at the Secretariat’s Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Hall, was attended by rural development ministers and senior officers from various states of the country.
During the meeting, Joshi extended New Year greetings and well wishes to Union Minister and other ministers. Minister Joshi provided a detailed update on the progress of rural development projects in the state to the Union Minister. He also made several important suggestions and requests during the meeting.
Ganesh Joshi highlighted that personnel deployed under various schemes have not received their honorarium since September 2024, amounting to approximately ₹260 lakh for one month. He requested that the release of funds under the administrative head be increased. Additionally, there is an outstanding payment of ₹152.48 crore under the material head of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme, which he requested to be released by the Government of India.
Joshi also requested an increase in the wage rate under NREGA in Uttarakhand, where it is currently ₹237, suggesting an increase to ₹350 considering the state’s challenging geographical conditions. He further suggested including “Gherbaad” work under the permissible activities of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme to prevent damage to crops from wild animals in Uttarakhand.
Minister Ganesh Joshi informed that out of the 69,194 allotted housing beneficiaries for the year 2023-24, 67,975 (99%) have already been provided with their houses, and the remaining will be completed by the end of January.
Additionally, the Rural Development Minister requested extra approval under PMGSY-3 for 600 kilometers of roads and 10 bridges, and for settlements with a population of over 250 (as per current census), despite having less than 250 residents according to the 2011 census, to be included for approval based on the family register. He also requested additional funds from the Government of India for the reconstruction or restoration of bridges and roads damaged by disasters under PMGSY-1 and PMGSY-2.
Due to the state’s tough geographical conditions, transportation costs for construction materials increase, making the cost of housing construction higher. To address this, Minister Joshi requested an increase in the approved grant under PMAY-G from ₹1.30 lakh per housing unit to ₹2.00 lakh per unit, equivalent to the grant under PM-JANMAN.
In the meeting, Chouhan assured the state of all possible assistance in fulfilling these requests.
