New Delhi: Newly appointed Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has hit the ground running and has said that skilling and empowerment of three crore rural women under the Lakhpati Didi scheme will be among the priority areas of his ministry.
Since taking charge of rural development, agriculture and farmer welfare ministries Tuesday, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has already held a slew of meetings.
He held a meeting with rural development officials to review ongoing schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and PM Gram Sadak Yojana. He also asked ministry officials to plan initiatives for the implementation of BJP’s key poll promises for the rural sector.
“Women empowerment is our government’s mission. It is the Prime Minister’s dream to have three crore Lakhpati Didis in rural areas. A lot of schemes are there to help them. Through Self Help Groups (SHGs), the work to empower women in rural areas is going on at a fast pace. We have 1 crore Lakhpati didis and now our aim is to train 2 crore more women to achieve the target. This project is very close to my heart; this mission will be part of our road map,” said Chouhan, who held a meeting with senior officials after taking charge of the rural development ministry to discuss the 100-day plan.
Launched last year, the Lakhpati Didi scheme is aimed at providing rural women with skill training to help them become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ (making an annual income of Rs 1 lakh). Currently, there are 83 lakh SHGs with over nine crore women who are “transforming rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance”, said Chouhan while speaking to mediapersons, adding that since the launch of the scheme, over one crore women have become Lakhpati Didis.
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The ministry will roll out the PMAY-Gramin scheme, under which financial assistance will be provided to families to construct two crore houses in rural areas in the next five years. A senior ministry official said that the one-time financial assistance of Rs 1.2 lakh in plains and 1.3 lakh in hill states given to the scheme’s beneficiaries is likely to be increased.
The ministry has already implemented several reforms such as use of technology in monitoring work and payment of wages to workers under the MGNREGS. It is learnt that the government plans to streamline the monitoring system and also use technology in assessment of assets created under the scheme.
A senior official said that the construction of roads in rural areas is another major focus area. Chouhan said that the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has changed the face of rural India. With close to 4 lakh kilometres of rural road network constructed under the scheme, senior officials said a plan to connect remote areas with lower populations is in the pipeline.
Implementing Modi’s guarantees
Chouhan said that the ministry will work towards fulfilling the promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto. Three crore Lakhpati didis, employment opportunities, launch of the Krishi Infrastructure Mission for integrated planning and coordination of agri-infrastructure projects, expanding irrigation facilities, launch of Krishi Satellite among others were key promises made by the BJP in its manifesto for the rural development and agriculture sector.
Chouhan said work on the 100-day plan for both ministries will start immediately. He also said that he will share the BJP’s manifesto with the officials of both ministries to start planning for implementation of ‘Modi ki Guarantees’.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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