Jana Kerosene Pariyojana to be extended for one year-Aiyar

Bhubaneswar, Jun 16 (UNI) Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar today announced that the pilot project for the Jana Kerosene Pariyojana (JKP) will be extended for one year.

Mr Aiyar, who was here to attend the two day conference of the Council of Panchayat Raj Minister that concluded today, told the newsmen that the council of ministers had urged the government to extend the project for one year due to some defect in its design.

He said the pilot project of the JKP would be extended for one more year and the necessary corrective measures would be taken to rectify the defects in the scheme.

The Union Minister said the conference deliberated on the setting up of Rural Business Hub and the states were asked to prepare a more detailed lists of products available at the block level so that necessary efforts would be made for their marketing and tie up with big business houses.

Mr Aiyar said so far Rural Business Hub Councils had been set up in 17 states.

He further said another area discussed in the conference was the empowerment of women and the Panchayat Mahila Shakti Abhijan where it was decided that the all the elected women representatives would be brought under one platform to understand their strength as most women in the Panchayat Raj system had a feeling that they were neglected.

Mr Aiyar said if all these women representatives would put together, they would articulate and emerge as a strong force in the panchayat system. Such a system has been very successful in Rajhsthan and was in progress in Karnatak, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. UNI DP BA RA PM2056