Agartala: Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said Tripura has recorded the highest performance in rural governance and development among states, citing progress under central schemes including housing and rural roads.
Addressing an elected representatives’ conference organised to mark the enactment of the VBGRAMG scheme, Chouhan said Tripura had nearly achieved its target under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
He said the state was assigned a target of constructing 3,76,913 houses under PMAY and had so far completed 3,73,828 units, achieving about 99 per cent of the goal. According to the minister, no other state had come as close to meeting its target.
Chouhan said a fresh survey had identified 2.55 lakh unsafe houses in the state. Following physical verification, the requirement was assessed at around two lakh additional houses. He added that sanction for these houses would be issued shortly.
On connectivity, the minister said proposals under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for construction of roads to link 109 villages in Tripura were in the final stages of approval and would be cleared soon.
Referring to the agriculture sector, Chouhan said a team of experts, including scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and senior officials of the ministry, would visit Tripura to prepare a roadmap for the state’s agricultural development.
He said he had discussed the matter with Chief Minister Manik Saha and decided to depute the team based on suggestions received from the state government. The team would conduct soil testing, assess agro-climatic conditions and evaluate water resources before submitting its report, he added.
The minister also announced an additional allocation of Rs 60 crore for Tripura under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Rs 4 crore under the Dalhan Mission aimed at achieving self-reliance in pulses production.
Chouhan said the recently enacted VBGRAMG law provides for 125 days of guaranteed employment in rural areas. He said the Union Budget had earmarked Rs 96,000 crore for the scheme and, with the inclusion of the states’ share, the total allocation stood at Rs 1.51 lakh crore.
In addition, the Finance Commission would provide Rs 55,000 crore to 2.86 lakh gram panchayats across the country, he said, adding that the overall outlay for the scheme would exceed Rs 2 lakh crore.
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Chouhan said if the funding pattern continued, about Rs 10 lakh crore could be invested in villages over the next five years. He added that gram sabhas would have autonomy in deciding utilisation of the funds.
The minister said the VBGRAMG framework was introduced to streamline rural employment guarantee mechanisms and address issues faced under the earlier MGNREGA system. He said the new provisions aimed to strengthen accountability and improve transparency in implementation.
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