MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Aug 8: Of the 36,428 villages across India that are being covered under the Prime Minister Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY), a total of 3,891 villages are in Jharkhand, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Replying to a query by Chatra MP Sunil Kumar Singh, Munda said, “The PMAAGY is being implemented between 2021-2022 and 2025-2026. All schemes for the benefit of tribals have been converged in this for improving their socio-economic status.”
Villages, which have more than 500 population and 50 per cent of them are Scheduled Tribes (ST), have been covered under PMAAGY. The main objective of the scheme is to have an overall, integrated and all-inclusive development of the selected villages.
“The scheme envisions development on eight fronts namely roads (internal and inter-villages/ block), telecommunication (mobile, internet), school, Anaganwadi Kendra, health sub centres, drinking water facility, drainage and solid waste management.
“All villages have been granted an amount of Rs 20.38 lakh as gap-filling fund to carry out the administrative expenses and approved activities. The Cabinet has approved Rs 7,276 crore for the scheme for five years,” Munda said in a written reply.
Apart from direct support to the tribals, infrastructure will also be developed in these villages. The budget for the Tribal Affairs Ministry has been raised from Rs 5,494 crore in 2020-2021 to Rs 8,451.92 crore in 2022-2023, which is an increase of 53 per cent.
The BJP Chatra MP also wished to know whether the new villages, which now have more than 50 per cent tribal population after inclusion of some castes as tribals, will be added in the list of beneficiary villages of the PMAAGY scheme.
Further, Singh said that with the increase in tribal population several blocks may now fulfil the requirements for Eklavya Adarsh Schools. He wanted to know the plans of the government to open these schools in three districts in his constituency – Chatra, Latehar and Palamu.
Singh also enquired about the progress of six approved Eklavya Schools in his MP constituency including the one in Kanhachatti in Chatra that is awaited since 2014-15.
