Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) With the government laying thrust on rural development, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday proposed a 12 percent increase in the department’s plan outlay from Rs.66,100 crore in the current fiscal to Rs/74,100 crore for 2011-12. The major share of rural development department’s plan outlay has gone to the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) which provides at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to each rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

The budget proposes Rs.40,000 crore for MGNREGS which was extended to all rural areas of the country from April 1, 2008.

The budget provides Rs.2,914 crore under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) for establishing micro-enterprises in rural areas. The scheme, which is being restuctured into National Rural Livelihood Mission, provides for at least 50 percent of the beneficiaries being Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

For rural housing, the budget proposes Rs 10,000 crore. The money would be used for assistance to below poverty line (BPL) households for construction of houses and upgradation of “kutcha (non-permanent) houses” under the Indira Awaas Yojana.

The budget proposes Rs.20,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for providing connectivity to eligible unconnected rural habitations through good all-weather roads and their systematic upgradation.

It proposes Rs.1,186 crore for other rural development programmes including Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas, District Rural Development Agency, National Institute of Rural Development, BPL survey and Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology.

The central plan outlay for rural development in 2010-11 was pegged at Rs.66,100 crore but the revised outlay for the year went up to Rs.76,337.50 crore.