United voice for NE rural development projects

Agartala, July 6: In a joint memorandum to Union Rural Development Minister Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, minister in-charges of Rural Development of NE states, including Sikkim, demanded more funds under different heads for upliftment of the rural areas yesterday.

The five points Charter of demands has emphasis on changing the ratio of existing Centre-state funds, sharing pattern from 75:25 to 90:10.

Under the existing sharing pattern, the states are facing difficulty in raising funds because of resource crunch and it needs the Centre's support to solve the drinking water crisis as most of the states located in the hills have a topography that is different from other Indian states, the memorandum pointed out.

They had also demanded a separate fund earmarked from the state plan to meet state share for total sanitation campaign as well as rural water supply programme in the region.

The memorandum demanded to enhance the per capita cost of water scheme in NE region, as the states had been facing a problem because of hilly terrain and remoteness.

Pointing out the need of changing funding pattern of submitted schemes, Tripura Rural Development Minister Jitendra Choudhury said that NE states have many habitations with poor quality of water, which need to be addressed urgently, but the present funding pattern of 75:25 could not make the venture a success.

UNI