Golden Temple
Chandigarh:
The Centre will provide separate funds to Punjab for upgrading roads in six border districts under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh announced today.
The roads will be upgraded in the border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Taran Taran and Pathankot, and the state government has been asked to prepare a comprehensive proposal in this regard, the Minister said, addressing a conference on 'Rural Development Policy' in Chandigarh.
"I have been asked by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to work out a special scheme for border districts of Punjab," he said in his address.
The Union Minister said that 1950 km of road would also be upgraded in rest of 16 districts of Punjab this year under PMGSY.
He said that on the lines of tribal and Naxal areas, the condition of minimum inhabitation of 500 persons for providing road connectivity under PMGSY would be relaxed to 250 persons in the case of border districts.
The Minister further announced that the Centre has decided to remove the BPL/APL condition for providing funds under the rural sanitation programmes of the Ministry in order to enlarge the scope of beneficiaries.
Referring to the inadequate amount of funds available for construction of a toilet under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Ramesh informed that the Government has decided to increase this limit to Rs 9,500 from the next month from Rs 3,500 at present.
Of this, Rs 5,000 would be available as direct subsidy and Rs 4,500 would be available under MNREGA.
On Thursday, talking to the media in Amritsar, Mr Ramesh addressed the issue of contaminated groundwater due to arsenic particles in Punjab, particularly in Malwa belt that includes Bathinda district, Mr Ramesh said the government was seriously taking up the matter since it was spreading cancer in the region.
He said his ministry was committed to providing hygienic potable water at the earliest possible time to everybody in the affected belt of Punjab.
Talking about the plight of village women in Punjab, he said that under the Nirmal Gram Panchayat scheme, it is the right of every woman to have the facility of toilet.
Mr Ramesh also paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
At the Golden temple, he was honoured in the Information Centre with set of woollen shawls, replica of the Golden Temple, a set of Sikh religious books by SGPC Secretary Dalmegh Singh.
He also visited the international headquarters of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at Qadian town in Gurdsapur district.
The roads will be upgraded in the border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Taran Taran and Pathankot, and the state government has been asked to prepare a comprehensive proposal in this regard, the Minister said, addressing a conference on 'Rural Development Policy' in Chandigarh.
"I have been asked by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to work out a special scheme for border districts of Punjab," he said in his address.
The Union Minister said that 1950 km of road would also be upgraded in rest of 16 districts of Punjab this year under PMGSY.
He said that on the lines of tribal and Naxal areas, the condition of minimum inhabitation of 500 persons for providing road connectivity under PMGSY would be relaxed to 250 persons in the case of border districts.
The Minister further announced that the Centre has decided to remove the BPL/APL condition for providing funds under the rural sanitation programmes of the Ministry in order to enlarge the scope of beneficiaries.
Referring to the inadequate amount of funds available for construction of a toilet under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Ramesh informed that the Government has decided to increase this limit to Rs 9,500 from the next month from Rs 3,500 at present.
Of this, Rs 5,000 would be available as direct subsidy and Rs 4,500 would be available under MNREGA.
On Thursday, talking to the media in Amritsar, Mr Ramesh addressed the issue of contaminated groundwater due to arsenic particles in Punjab, particularly in Malwa belt that includes Bathinda district, Mr Ramesh said the government was seriously taking up the matter since it was spreading cancer in the region.
He said his ministry was committed to providing hygienic potable water at the earliest possible time to everybody in the affected belt of Punjab.
Talking about the plight of village women in Punjab, he said that under the Nirmal Gram Panchayat scheme, it is the right of every woman to have the facility of toilet.
Mr Ramesh also paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
At the Golden temple, he was honoured in the Information Centre with set of woollen shawls, replica of the Golden Temple, a set of Sikh religious books by SGPC Secretary Dalmegh Singh.
He also visited the international headquarters of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at Qadian town in Gurdsapur district.
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