The Hindu : Panchayats to generate income from watershed programmes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 26, 2003

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Panchayats to generate income from watershed programmes

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JAN. 25. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, will inaugurate `Haryali,' a rural programme for watershed development during the National Conference of State Ministers of Rural Development, Panchayat Raj and Public Works here on Monday. The conference is being held to implement the progress of ongoing Centrally-sponsored rural development programmes.

Announcing this here, the Minister for Rural Development, Shanta Kumar, said `Haryali' was being launched to strengthen Panchayati Raj institutions for implementation of watershed programmes such as the Drought-Prone Areas Programme, the Desert Development Programme and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme.

The panchayats would contribute 10 per cent of the cost of construction of a project, while 90 per cent would be funded by the Centre. Through these programmes, panchayats would have to create regular income for themselves from rainwater management, construction of check dams, irrigation, fishery, forestry and horticulture.

The Centre has set aside Rs. 1,000 crores for the `Haryali' programme, of which Rs. 885 crores will be borne by the Ministry of Rural Development and the rest by the States. Under the initiative, the gram panchayats would execute watershed projects with technical support from the block panchayat-zilla panchayat which would act as the Project Implementation Agency (PIA).

In the absence of technical staff, "a suitable government line department or autonomous agency can be identified for technical assistance. However, if even this fails, then a non-government organisation (NGO) of standing with adequate technical expertise and experience would be identified to act as the PIA. Representations of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and User Groups (UGs) (especially women) in the standing committee of gram panchayats have been proposed for this initiative. Besides, the ongoing projects undertaken by NGOs would continue," the Minister said. Mr. Shanta Kumar said the conference would review all rural development programmes. For the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, for instance, a sum of Rs. 7,553 crores had been spent during the last two years for connecting 37,000 habitations through the laying of 56,000 km roads.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had agreed to fund the programme estimated to cost Rs. 60,000 crores for connectivity of 1,60,000 villages with all-weather roads. The ADB has pledged $ 500 millions (Rs. 2,500 crores) from the next financial year.

The Minister said the Centre had initiated formation of State-level and district-level vigilance monitoring committees. In all, 550 committees had been formed in as many districts.

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