Raghuvansh asks CMs to achieve target under rural road prog

New Delhi, Dec 5 (UNI) Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has requested the Chief Ministers of nine States to personally review Rural Road Connectivity Programme and take corrective measures to achieve the targets fixed for the current year.

In separate letters to the Chief Ministers, of Asom, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Dr Singh said that a special window in NABARD is being set up during the current year for raising Rs 4000 crore to finance rural roads under Bharat Nirman which would supplement budget outlay of Rs 5225.62 crore.

He said that unless the states enhance their absorption capacity and project management capacity there is a serious risk that the available funds may not be utilised fully. He said that performance status of programmes under Bharat Nirman is reviewed every quarter by the National Rural infrastructure Committee headed by the Prime Minister.

In his letter to Asom Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said that against annual expenditure target of Rs 875 crore, only Rs 276.23 crore have been spent upto October on the programme. He said that the percentage of achievement in Asom has been only 16 per cent.

In his letter to Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh, Dr Singh said that the State has spent only Rs 295.44 crore upto October against annual expenditure target of Rs 952 crore under the programme. He said that the percentage of achievement has been 14 per cent.

Chief Minister of Jharkhand Madhu Koda was told that only Rs 28.32 crore has been spent by the State against the annual expenditure target of Rs 91 crore resulting in 5.22 per cent achievement for setting up new link roads.

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