Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

FFW `irregularities': Minister taken aback

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD Dec. 6. The Union Minister for Rural Development, Kashiram Rana, appeared surprised when complaints of irregularities in the distribution of rice under the Food-for-work (FFW) programme in the State were taken to his notice here on Saturday. To persistent questions from reporters, he promised to take action in specific cases of irregularities.

The Minister said at the news conference at the National Institute of Rural Development hat 27 per cent of the population lived below poverty line in the country and the Government had targeted to bring it down to 22 per cent by the end of the Tenth Five-Year Plan and 15 per cent by the Eleventh Plan. That was why it was decided to spend Rs.10,000 crores on FFW and take up Swarnajayanti Grameena Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) under two schemes to create jobs in rural areas.

Under the ambitious Prime Minister's Grameena Sadak Yojana at a cost of Rs.60,000 crores, the Government intended to provide road connectivity to all villages with a population of a thousand by the end of this year and to the 1.6 lakh unconnected habitations by 2007, Mr. Rana said, emphasising the role of NIRD in achieving the objective.

He said that the National Rural Technology Park, which was coming up beside NIRD at a cost of Rs.20 crores, would also play a lead role in the transfer of rural technologies to people. .

Recognising the need for giving importance to NIRD, the Centre had decided to entrust the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of major programmes like SGSY and Hariyali to the organisation.

Earlier inaugurating the foundation day celebrations of NIRD, Mr. Rana said the scale of poverty in India coexisted with huge stocks of surplus foodgrains. Although the grains could be utilised to mitigate the impact of drought through FFW during the first half of the current year, it could not be a permanent solution to the problem.

The Planning Commission member, S.P. Gupta, said the commission had chosen rural non-farm sector as highest priority for future generation of employment.

Sheila Bhalla, Fellow at the Institute for Human Development, said the critical issue in development in the country was where to find the resources needed for investment in rural and urban infrastructure.

The Union Ministers of State for Rural Development, Annasaheb M.K. Patil and U.V. Krishnam Raju, and NIRD Director General, Lalit Mathur, were present.

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