Union Rural Development Minister Birendra Singh today said the Telangana Government is yet to submit its drought report to the Centre.
The Union Minister visited NRFC at Annaram in Shadnagar mandal. Participating at a program he said they are ready to offer financial assistance to the States on drought problem.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union minister said both the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have not yet submitted their drought reports to the Centre. The Centre was planning to pump in huge money for rural development in phased manner, he stated. As part of the scheme, the Centre will sanction Rs 2 lakh crores to the villages for development of 2.46 lakh Village Panchayats in four years.
Stating that the rural areas are yet to be developed and the Centre was keen on giving funds straightaway to the Village Panchayats, Birendra Singh said the Centre would supply waters to scarcity areas through railways. He also noted that the “Food for Work” program will provide more employability to the people working for it. “For this, we will increase the number of working days to 150 days from 100 days per year. This will imply to the areas declared drought and the program offers work for those without work in the villages through an application at village panchayats concerned”, he added. According to the information, the Village Panchayats have to compensate the workers with suitable amount in case of not providing work in 24 hours. (NSS)