Agartala, Jun 30, 2012 : The UPA government is working on making India an open defecation free country by properly implementing the 'Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan' scheme within the next decade, said Rural Development Minister Joyram Ramesh.
Altogether Rs 35 thousand crore will be spend over the next five years while Rs 3500 crore will be spent in the current financial year to achieve the end. Announcing this in an interaction with the media in the state Guest House the union minister said that Sikkim had already become a 'Nirmal' state by doing away with open defecation while Kerala will achieve that goal by the end of the current year.
“We are hoping that Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur in Northeast will emerge as 'Nirmal' next year and will be followed by states of Arunachal Pradesh , Nagaland and Meghalaya in 2014; Assam will achieve this by the end of 2015” said Ramesh. Known for his candid and uninhibited articulation, Ramesh described Indian railway as the 'biggest toilet' in the world and said that unless this evil practice which he compared to the 'bane of caste system' was ended India would continue to suffer from malnutrition. 'The task is daunting as we have 2.40 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country and 60 percent of Indians still depend on open defecation ; out of this 60 percent more than 65 percent are women ; it is a shame to the country' said Ramesh . He stated that recently Bill Gates had met him in Delhi and promised to work in association with the government of India to eradicate this system.
On the issue of water supply which also falls under his ministerial jurisdiction Ramesh said that in the Northeast region Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur are adversely affected by high iron content in water while Assam is affected by arsenic. ‘RD ministry planning to launch a large number of water treatment plants in states of the region to insulate people from consumption of contaminated water' said Ramesh , adding that an arsenic research centre will be set up in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 50 crore and this will help Northeast also.
Ramesh who had arrived here this morning to hold discussions with the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and senior government officials over progress in implementation of centrally sponsored rural development schemes said that Centre had already asked the CAG to conduct a 'performance audit' of the works done under MGNREGA in all the states of the country. 'The CAG will submit the final report on its audit to the government in November this year and it will be tabled in parliament in December this year ; discussions may also take place on the CAG report' said Ramesh, adding that Centre had received allegations of corruption, diversion and misuse of funds in implementing MGNREGA and other schemes. He also asserted that from next financial year CAG will take up at least one centrally sponsored rural development scheme for audit of performance. 'We have 2.40 lakh Village Panchayats across the country and they are now flush with funds ; 20 percent of Gram Panchayats will be required to furnish compulsory certification of funds utilized on the basis of audits conducted by registered chartered accountants appointed by CAG from next financial year' said Ramesh. He stress on the importance of accountability and transparency in implementing schemes and proper utilization of funds .
'In the current financial year we have allocated Rs 99 thousand crore for rural development which is next only to the outlay on defence in our budget but this is public money and we are only trying to ensure proper utilization of funds for asset creation' said Ramesh .
He indirectly hinted that many state governments have been defaulting on furnishing utilisation reports and audited accounts. Ramesh also indirectly contradicted Tripura government's consistent claims on development saying that development and utilization of funds should be reflected in economic indices of the state. 'The state government officially says that the below poverty line (BPL) figure in Tripura is still 65 percent ; if it is so, where has all the money given by Centre gone?' Jayram asked. “To much of money including in Tripura getting waste, we must provide honest accountancy”, said Ramesh adding that ‘ people of Tripura have every rights to know what is happening with public money’.
Jayram said that he had a cordial discussion with the chief minister Manik Sarkar and had assured him that there would be no political string attached to sanction of funds. 'In the last financial year we sanctioned Rs 990 crore for MGNREGA in Tripura and naturally in the current year the amount will be much more ; but we insist on accountability and utilization; we also give award and administrative incentives for good work in implementing centrally sponsored schemes ' said Ramesh.
He added that the centrally sponsored scheme of road connectivity had earlier stipulated that habitations with population of 500 families would be brought under centrally financed road connectivity, water supply and sanitation development separately but now the population figure had been reduced to 250 families. He disclosed that chief minister Manik Sarkar had specially requested him to convey to the prime minister the urgent need for improved relations between Tripura and Bangladesh.
Altogether Rs 35 thousand crore will be spend over the next five years while Rs 3500 crore will be spent in the current financial year to achieve the end. Announcing this in an interaction with the media in the state Guest House the union minister said that Sikkim had already become a 'Nirmal' state by doing away with open defecation while Kerala will achieve that goal by the end of the current year.
“We are hoping that Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur in Northeast will emerge as 'Nirmal' next year and will be followed by states of Arunachal Pradesh , Nagaland and Meghalaya in 2014; Assam will achieve this by the end of 2015” said Ramesh. Known for his candid and uninhibited articulation, Ramesh described Indian railway as the 'biggest toilet' in the world and said that unless this evil practice which he compared to the 'bane of caste system' was ended India would continue to suffer from malnutrition. 'The task is daunting as we have 2.40 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country and 60 percent of Indians still depend on open defecation ; out of this 60 percent more than 65 percent are women ; it is a shame to the country' said Ramesh . He stated that recently Bill Gates had met him in Delhi and promised to work in association with the government of India to eradicate this system.
On the issue of water supply which also falls under his ministerial jurisdiction Ramesh said that in the Northeast region Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur are adversely affected by high iron content in water while Assam is affected by arsenic. ‘RD ministry planning to launch a large number of water treatment plants in states of the region to insulate people from consumption of contaminated water' said Ramesh , adding that an arsenic research centre will be set up in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 50 crore and this will help Northeast also.
Ramesh who had arrived here this morning to hold discussions with the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and senior government officials over progress in implementation of centrally sponsored rural development schemes said that Centre had already asked the CAG to conduct a 'performance audit' of the works done under MGNREGA in all the states of the country. 'The CAG will submit the final report on its audit to the government in November this year and it will be tabled in parliament in December this year ; discussions may also take place on the CAG report' said Ramesh, adding that Centre had received allegations of corruption, diversion and misuse of funds in implementing MGNREGA and other schemes. He also asserted that from next financial year CAG will take up at least one centrally sponsored rural development scheme for audit of performance. 'We have 2.40 lakh Village Panchayats across the country and they are now flush with funds ; 20 percent of Gram Panchayats will be required to furnish compulsory certification of funds utilized on the basis of audits conducted by registered chartered accountants appointed by CAG from next financial year' said Ramesh. He stress on the importance of accountability and transparency in implementing schemes and proper utilization of funds .
'In the current financial year we have allocated Rs 99 thousand crore for rural development which is next only to the outlay on defence in our budget but this is public money and we are only trying to ensure proper utilization of funds for asset creation' said Ramesh .
He indirectly hinted that many state governments have been defaulting on furnishing utilisation reports and audited accounts. Ramesh also indirectly contradicted Tripura government's consistent claims on development saying that development and utilization of funds should be reflected in economic indices of the state. 'The state government officially says that the below poverty line (BPL) figure in Tripura is still 65 percent ; if it is so, where has all the money given by Centre gone?' Jayram asked. “To much of money including in Tripura getting waste, we must provide honest accountancy”, said Ramesh adding that ‘ people of Tripura have every rights to know what is happening with public money’.
Jayram said that he had a cordial discussion with the chief minister Manik Sarkar and had assured him that there would be no political string attached to sanction of funds. 'In the last financial year we sanctioned Rs 990 crore for MGNREGA in Tripura and naturally in the current year the amount will be much more ; but we insist on accountability and utilization; we also give award and administrative incentives for good work in implementing centrally sponsored schemes ' said Ramesh.
He added that the centrally sponsored scheme of road connectivity had earlier stipulated that habitations with population of 500 families would be brought under centrally financed road connectivity, water supply and sanitation development separately but now the population figure had been reduced to 250 families. He disclosed that chief minister Manik Sarkar had specially requested him to convey to the prime minister the urgent need for improved relations between Tripura and Bangladesh.
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