Delhi,,

The Rural Development Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh has reiterated that the Government should and must have a role in the land acquisition as faster industrialization and urbanization are both inevitable and desirable. Talking to media here, a day after the Standing Committee report on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 was tabled in the Lower House of Parliament, he said, the role of the government in the acquisition process cannot be completely eliminated as India is not a developed country. He said, after inter-ministerial consultations, the changes, if any will be brought before the cabinet and all efforts will be made to pass the revised bill in the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament. He said, the second cardinal principle is that Acquisition role must be governed by public purpose, which is at times met by the government organization and sometime by private companies and illustrated that in many cases the Government consciously seeks private investment for public purpose like airports and ports. Shri Ramesh also strongly favoured that compensation should be fair and equitable, both to those whose land has been acquired and to those whose livelihoods were destroyed. The fourth principle, the Minister added that the procedure of acquisition must be timely and transparent and the fifth and final one is that the State Governments should be given maximum flexibility. Shri Ramesh described the above five principles as Panchsheel and said that whatever law in Parliament will be passed will facilitate Economic Growth and not hamper the development process. In reply to a volley of questions on the stand of the Parliamentary Committee on several aspects of the Bill, the Minister said, the positive recommendations of the Committee as well as suggestions of the State Governments will be incorporated in the revised bill, as he intends to do one more round of consultations with the State Governments. He said, land acquisition for Public-Private Projects is a contentious issue but it cannot be wished away as many State governments had supported the PPP model during the pre-introduction consultations. Shri Ramesh also rejected the observation that Trinamul Congress is opposed to many provisions of the Bill and informed that he had met the West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamta Banerji twice before the introduction of bill and also held wide ranging consultations with the trinamul party MP. D.Bandyopadhay. The Minister said that at a time when investor sentiment is low and economic growth is under pressure, the Government need to quickly resolve the land acquisition law to end uncertainty.

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                      The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Urban Development for extension of time by two years up to 2013-14 for completion of projects sanctioned till March 2012 and reforms under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). CCI gave its approval for the following proposals:-

• Implementation period extended by two years up to 2013-14 for completion of projects sanctioned till March 2012 and reforms under UIG including procurement of buses sanctioned under the Economic Stiimulus and UIDSSMT of JNNURM.

• Structures and support of the Mission as approved by the Cabinet and utilization of funds for purposes such as capacity building including PMU, PIU, IRMA, IEC activities, A& OE etc. provided in the guidelines, which are ancillary to the implementation of the Mission and indispensable, extended for the same period.

Necessary budgetary provisions for two years beyond 31 March 2012 for completion of sanctioned projects during Mission Period of JNNRUM. This would be within overall seven year Mission allocation.

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                    Rice procurement in the Kharif marketing season 2011-12 (October-September) has crossed the mark of 250 lakh tonne. According to statistics 2,50,24,200 tonne rice has been procured by the various government agencies by February 22, 2012.

Punjab procured 77,31,325 tonne followed by Chhatisgarh 40,54,679 Andhra Pradesh 36,87,335 and Haryana 19,73,875 tonne of rice. This procurement is 1,75,517 tonne more than the corresponding day of last marketing season.

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रोचेम कंपनी  द्वारा जर्मनी से आयातित कंकर्ड ब्लू वेस्ट एनर्जी सिस्टम नामक अति आधुनिक तकनीक आधारित संयंत्र लगाया जाएगा जो पूरी तरह प्रदूषण रहित एक वैज्ञानिक वैकçल्पक कचरा निस्तारक संयंत्र है। इसकी खास बात यह है कि एक साफ़ सुथरा ग्रीन जॉन विकसित कर इस संयंत्र की स्थापना की जाएगी, जिसमें कचरा एकत्र करने व स्टोरेज से लेकर सम्पूर्ण  निस्तारण तक की प्रक्रिया बिल्कुल सुरक्षित ढंग से संचालित होगी। इस प्रकार यह एक दुर्गंध रहित इकाई होगी। इस संयंत्र के लिए 100 टन कचरा प्रतिदिन सीकर शहर से उपलब्ध होगा और वर्ष भर में 7भ्00 घंटे यह प्रसंस्करण इकाई काम करेगी। इस प्रक्रियांतर्गत एक मेगावाट प्रति घंटे के हिसाब से सालभर में कुल 7 हजार  मेगावाट बिजली का उत्पादन होगा जिसकी स्थानीय गि्रड के माध्यम से आपूर्ति की जाएगी।

चूंकि यह संयंत्र बी.ओ.टी. आधार पर लगाया जा रहा है, इसलिए नगरपरिषद को किसी प्रकार का पूंजी निवेश नहीं करना पड़ेगा। इस प्लांट के लिए कंम्पनी   को सात एकड़ अविकसित भूमि 30 वर्ष की लीज पर आवंटित की गई है जिससे सालाना 3भ् हजार टन कचरा उपलब्ध कराने पर नगरपरिषद को भ् लाख 2भ् हजार रुपए का राजस्व प्राप्त होगा। प्रति पांच वर्ष पश्चात इस राशि में 30 प्रतिशत की वृçद्ध का भी प्रस्ताव है। संयंत्र निर्माण स्थल को विकसित करने का जिम्मा  आर.यू.आई.डी.पी. को सौंपा गया है, जिसके पास वर्तमान में सीकर शहर की सीवरेज परियोजना का भी कार्य है। आर.यू.आई.डी.पी. द्वारा लगभग 172 लाख रुपए व्यय कर संपर्क  व अंदर की सड़कें बनाने, एक लैंड फिल ट्रेंच निर्माण, एक वे ब्रिज, कार्यालय भवन, चारदीवारी, नलकूप निर्माण, वृक्षारोपण व विद्युतीकरण आदि कार्य कराए जाएंगे। इसके अलावा करीब 77 लाख रुपए खर्च कर एक जे.सी.बी. मशीन, एक कोर्पक्टोर दो ड्रोपेर  व एक लोडर खरीद कर नगरपरिषद को उपलब्ध कराए जाएंगे।

सीकर नगरपरिषद के अधिशासी अभियंता श्री बी.एल. सोनी, जो इस संयंत्र की स्थापना से जुड़े एक प्रमुख अधिकारी हैं, उन्होंने बताया कि इस संयंत्र में मेटल व कांच को छोड़कर शेष सभी तरह का कचरा कच्चे माल के रूप में काम आ सकेगा, जिसमें प्लास्टिक भी शामिल है। उन्होंने उम्मीद  जताई है कि इस संयंत्र से मार्च 2012 तक बिजली उत्पादन शुरू हो जाएगा। उधर कंपनी  सूत्रों का कहना है कि यह वर्ष भर चलने वाला प्लांट है और इस पर मौसम परिवर्तन का कोई प्रभाव नहीं

पड़ेगा। सीकर नगरपरिषद के पास वर्तमान में कचरे की छंटाई की कोई व्यवस्था उपलब्ध नहीं है और नगरपरिषद द्वारा एकत्रित कचरा ज्यों का त्यों कंम्पनी को सौंप दिया जाएगा, जिसे कंम्पनी  द्वारा पर्यावरणीय अनुकूल तरीके से प्रसंस्कृत किया जाएगा।

कंम्पनी  सूत्रों ने जानकारी दी कि जर्मन तकनीक आधारित कंकर्ड ब्लू वेस्ट एनर्जी सिस्टम में कई चरणों वाली प्रक्रिया का इस्तेमाल किया जाता है जो ठोस काबüननिक कचरे के पाइरोलाइसिस से आरम्भ होगी। इसके बाद गैस का उत्पादन होगा, जिसे एक संशोधन चरण से गुजारा जाएगा तत्पश्चात भाप दी जाएगी और एक टार मुक्त हाई एनर्जी मान वाले हाइड्रोजन से सिन गैस का निर्माण किया जाएगा। यही गैस एक इंजिन अथवा बॉयलर के जरिए निकलने वाली भाप की मदद से बिजली पैदा करेगी। यह एक स्वच्छ समाधान है जो न केवल भारत के उत्सर्जन मापदंडों पर खरा उतरता है बल्कि विश्व स्तरीय मापदंडों के भी अनुरूप है।

सीकर में लगाया जा रहा कचरे से बिजली पैदा करने वाला यह प्लांट उत्तर भारत का पहला संयंत्र होगा, जिसके फलस्वरूप इससे नाना प्रकार के लाभ होने के साथ-साथ सीकर को एक उच्च स्तरीय पहचान मिलेगी और स्थानीय स्तर पर रोजगार के अवसर भी सृजित होंगे। उद्योग मंत्री कहते हैं – क्वक्वसीकर शहर को प्रदेश का एक साफ़-सुथरा और सुविधा संम्पन्न  शहर बनाने के मेरे प्रयासों में यह प्रदूषण रहित संयंत्र एक बेश कीमती इकाई के रूप में सामने आएगा।क्वक्व उन्होंने बताया कि राज्य सरकार ने सीकर शहर के लिए कचरा एकत्र करने की परियोजना भी स्वीकृत की है जो अभी तक केवल संभाग मुख्यालय  के जिलों में ही मंजूर है।

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Land acquisition is one of the factors contributing to delay in implementation of some projects under National Highways Development Project (NHDP). Delay generally occurs due to other reasons also, which overlap and attributing any delay solely to land acquisition may not be appropriate.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has taken several measures in order to cut down delays in land acquisition. These include strengthening of infrastructure provided to Competent Authority for Land Acquisitions (CALAs), facilitating better coordination with the State Governments etc. by creating Regional/Zonal offices and persuading State Governments to set up high powered committees under Chief Secretaries for NHDP projects. For some projects in a few States, Special Land Acquisition Units (SLAUs) have also been set up. Progress of land acquisition is also being monitored through regular reviews.

This information was given by the Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Jitin Prasada.

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Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh said, delay in the payment of wages to workers is the biggest problem facing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA. Addressing a meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee on MGNREGA attached to his Ministry here last evening, he said, complaints have come mainly from states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, where wages were not paid in some areas ranging from nine months to a year. Shri Ramesh said, flexibility in the guidelines, special focus in naxal-infested areas and skill development programmes will be the three priority areas in future implementation of the rural job scheme. He said, widespread consultations including with the Chief Ministers of the States are on and soon the new guidelines will be issued. He said, though the Act will not be changed as of now, but the new guidelines will be simplified. Dwelling on the issues of transparency, the Minister apprised the members of the new initiatives like strengthening of the audit mechanism, effective deployment of dedicated staff, more coverage of banks and post offices and the lab-to-land initiative of the Ministry.

During the meeting, the members raised the issues like fake job cards and muster rolls in some of the states, lesser mandays of work allocated than the mandatory 100 days work and enhancement of minimum wages to the workers.

The members cutting across all political parties expressed concern over the audit mechanism and called for effective Central Monitoring of the Scheme. To address the problem of wage disbursal, the members mainly from the hilly states and naxal affected areas underlined the need for mobile banking system. The Minister appreciated the suggestions of the members and assured them that their views will be accommodated in framing the new guidelines to be rolled out soon.

In his concluding remarks, Secretary, Rural Development, Shri B.K.Sinha said, several new models have emerged in the implementation of MGNREGA and mentioned about Shrama Sakthi Sanghas in Andhra Pradesh, where more than one Crore labourers were registered for skill building programmes. He said, the 2nd Phase of MGNREGA can usher in the second Green Revolution as land improvement will be the new component in the job scheme, which will help the small and marginal farmers to augment their income. Shri Sinha said, out of 150 million hectares of land only 50 million hectares is irrigated and the new guidelines even on private land improvement will bring in a revolution of sorts in the rural India. He also informed the members that with Biometric signatures and other technological improvements, the problem of leakages can be addressed effectively.

The meeting was attended by Ministers of State, Shri Pradeep Jain, Shri Sisir Adhikari, Ms Agatha Sangma and senior officials of the Ministry of Rural Development. The members, who attended the meeting include Ms. Annu Tandon, Shri Bhupindra Singh, Shri Harish Choudhary, Sardarni Harsimarat Kaur Badal, Shri Jairam Pangi, Shri Kamal Kishore, Shri Lal Chand Kataria, Shri Narayan Singh Amlabe, Shri Pradeep Tamta, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Dr. Tarun Mandal, Shri Shetti Raju Alias Devappanna (All from Lok Sabha) and Dr. Vijaylaxmi Sadho from Rajya Sabha.

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श्री धारीवाल शनिवार को नई दिल्ली के विज्ञान भवन में केंद्रीय आवास एवं शहरी गरीबी उन्मूलन मंत्री कुमारी शैलजा की अध्यक्षता में आयोजित राजीव आवास योजना पर राज्यों के शहरी विकास मंत्रियों के समेलन में बोल रहे थे। समेलन में प्रमुख नगरीय सचिव श्री जी.एस. संधु एवं अन्य वरिष्ठ अधिकारीगण मौजूद थे।

श्री धारीवाल ने बताया कि राज्य के छह बड़े शहरों को स्लम मुक्त करने के लिए आगामी पांच वषोü में राजकोश पर 2900 करोड़ रू. का अतिरिक्त भार पड़ेगा। उन्होंने सुझाव दिया कि राजीव गांधी आवास योजना के लिए एकीकृत आवास एवं स्लम डवलपमेंट (आई.एच.एस.डी.पी.) कार्यक्रम के पैटर्न पर केंद्रीय अंशदान को भ्0 प्रतिशत बढ़ाकर 80 प्रतिशत किया जाना चाहिए। साथ ही योजना की क्रियान्वती के लिए केंद्र से एक मुश्त राशि देने के अलावा राज्यों को इसे लागू करने के लिए पूरी छूट प्रदान करनी चाहिए।

स्वायत्त शासन मंत्री ने बताया कि राज्य के छह शहरों की स्लम मुक्त नगर योजना बनाने के लिए केंद्र सरकार द्वारा स्वीकृत भ्62.30 लाख रू. की राशि में से प्रथम किश्त के रूप में 281.1भ् लाख रूपए की राशि प्राप्त हो चुकी है। उन्होंने भारत सरकार से अनुरोध किया कि राजीव आवास योजना का शुभारंभ राजस्थान से किया जाए।

उन्होंने बताया कि राजस्थान सरकार ग्रामीण क्षेत्र के गरीबों का अपना घर होने के सपनों को साकार कर रही है। प्रदेश में 3400 करोड़ रूपए की लागत से इंदिरा आवास योजना की तर्ज पर क्वक्वमुयमंत्री ग्रामीण बी.पी.एल. आवास योजनांं शुरू की गई है। इस योजना का शुभारंभ हाल ही में केंद्रीय ग्रामीण विकास मंत्री श्री जयराम रमेश ने किया है।

उन्होंने बताया कि इस प्रकार की योजना को लागू करने वाला राजस्थान पूरे देश में पहला प्रदेश है और राज्य की इस ऐतिहासिक योजना की शुरूआत करने की घोषणा विगत तीन जून को यूपीए अध्यक्ष श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी द्वारा प्रदेश के आदिवासी अंचल बांसवाड़ा में की गई थी।

श्री धारीवाल ने बताया कि मुयमंत्री श्री अशोक गहलोत का सपना है कि देश में शिक्षा के अधिकार और खाद्य सुरक्षा आदि के समान ही क्वक्वराईट टू शेल्र्टरंं कानून भी बने, ताकि देश के हर परिवार को अपना घर सुलभ हो सके।

श्री धारीवाल ने बताया कि प्रदेश में क्वअफोडेüबल हाउसिंग पॉलिसीं भी लागू की गई है। इस योजना के अंतर्गत तीन वषोü में पांच लाख मकान बनाने का लक्ष्य रखा गया है इसमें सभी वगोü के लोगों को अपने क्वस्वप्न का आशियानां मिलने का सुलभ अवसर मिलेगा। योजना के अंतर्गत प्रदेश के सात शहरों में 1भ् योजनाओं की स्वीकृति दी गई है और 12 हजार 140 मकानों का निर्माण प्रारभ किया गया है। इसके अलावा राजस्थान आवासन मंडल तथा अन्य शहरी निकायों द्वारा 60 हजार आवासों के निर्माण की योजना लागू की जाएगी।

उन्होंने बताया कि क्वक्वजवाहर लाल नेहरू राष्ट्रीय शहरी नवीनीकरण मिशनंं के अंतर्गत राज्य के जयपुर, अजमेर एवं पुष्कर में आधारभूत विकास एवं गरीबों के लिए मूलभूत सेवाओं के लिए भ्98 करोड़ रू. व्यय किए गए है। इसी प्रकार आठ हजार करोड़ रू. के निवेश से जयपुर मेट्रो परियोजना की स्वीकृति के साथ ही इस महत्वाकांक्षी परियोजना के प्रथम चरण का कार्य प्रारंभ किया जा चुका है।

श्री धारीवाल ने बताया कि प्रदेश के लघु एवं मध्यम कस्बों में आधारभूत विकास योजना के अंतर्गत 3भ् शहरों के लिए 610 करोड़ रू. की 38 परियोजनाएं स्वीकृत की गई और इनमें 09 परियोजनाओं का कार्य पूर्ण कर लिया गया है तथा 29 परियोजनाओं का कार्य प्रगति पर है। इस योजना में अब तक 213 करोड़ रू. व्यय किए जा चुके है। इसी प्रकार एकीकृत आवास एवं स्लम डवलपमेंट कार्यक्रम के अंतर्गत प्रदेश के 4भ् शहरों के लिए 642 करोड़ रू. की 49 परियोजना स्वीकृत की गई है जिनमें से 37 परियोजनाएं प्रगति पर है। इस योजना में अब तक 111 करोड़ रू. व्यय किए गए है और योजना के तहत 4010 मकानों का निर्माण हो चुका है, जबकि भ्637 मकान निर्माणाधीन है।

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खेती को लाभ का धंधा बनाने के लिये किये जा रहे विभिन्न प्रयासों का फल है कि प्रदेश में कृषि उत्पादन ने 8 प्रतिशत की वृद्धि हासिल की गयी है। यह राष्ट्रीय औसत से 6 प्रतिशत अधिक है। यह जानकारी आज यहाँ मुख्यमंत्री श्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान द्वारा ली गयी कृषि विभाग की समीक्षा बैठक में दी गयी। मुख्यमंत्री श्री चौहान ने निर्देश दिये कि नकली बीज या खाद की कोई भी शिकायत मिलने पर जाँच कर सख्त कानूनी कार्रवाई की जाये। बैठक में कृषि मंत्री डॉ. रामकृष्ण कुसमरिया, कृषि राज्य मंत्री श्री ब्रजेन्द्र प्रताप सिंह, मुख्य सचिव श्री अवनि वैश्य भी उपस्थित थे।

मुख्यमंत्री श्री चौहान ने बैठक में कहा कि कृषि हमारी सर्वोच्च प्राथमिकता है। इसीलिये प्रदेश में अलग से कृषि केबिनेट गठित की गयी है। उन्होंने निर्देश दिये कि प्रदेश में बीज उत्पादन बढ़ाया जाये और किसानों को प्रमाणिक बीज उपलब्ध करवायें। उन्होंने कहा कि अरहर के ऐसे बीज के बारे में कृषि वैज्ञानिकों से पता करें जिस पर पाले का प्रभाव नहीं हो। यदि प्रमाणित बीज खराब हो जाये तथा इसमें किसान की गलती नहीं हो, तो मुआवजा देने की योजना बनाये। किसानों को उपलब्ध करवाये जा रहे खाद-बीज की गुणवत्ता सुनिश्चित करने के लिये आकस्मिक जाँच की जाये। इसके लिये प्रत्येक संभाग में खाद-बीज के नमूनों की जाँच के लिये प्रयोगशाला स्थापित करें। रबी के लिये अभी से तैयारी करें। विभिन्न योजनाओं का लाभ किसानों तक पहुँचे। कृषि यंत्रीकरण की विभिन्न योजनाओं को एकीकृत करें। किसानों के खाते में सीधे अनुदान देने के निर्णय के क्रियान्वयन के प्रभाव का अध्ययन कराया जाये। मिट्टी के नमूनों की वैज्ञानिक जाँच प्रत्येक ग्राम में हो। नये सिंचित क्षेत्र में किसानों को फसलों के संबंध में सलाह दी जाये।

मंत्री डॉ. कुसमरिया ने कहा कि प्रदेश में जैविक खेती को प्रोत्साहित किया जा रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि ऊँचे क्षेत्रों में दलहन की खेती पर पाला नहीं लगता, इसकी जानकारी किसानों को दें। प्रदेश में उर्वरकों का मिश्रण बेचने पर प्रतिबंध लगाया गया है।

बैठक में बताया गया कि प्रदेश में 3 लाख 91 हजार मिट्टी स्वास्थ्य कार्ड जारी किये गये हैं। प्रदेश के 313 विकासखण्डों में 1000 बलराम ग्राम के किसानों को कृषि तकनीक की जानकारी दी जा रही है। खरीफ कार्यक्रम में इस बार 11.66 प्रतिशत क्षेत्र की वृद्धि का लक्ष्य है। बैठक में अपर मुख्य सचिव और कृषि उत्पादन आयुक्त श्री आर. परशुराम, प्रमुख सचिव कृषि श्री एम.एम. उपाध्याय सहित वरिष्ठ अधिकारी मौजूद थे।

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Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, said, “We expect to see an exponential growth in the area of desalination plants in the coming years. Addressing the Earth Sciences Day Celebration here today the Minister said, “The greatest challenge before both urban, and rural populations is that of drinking water. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has developed low temperature Desalination technology for converting sea water into drinking water. We have a plan to cover all coastal power plants in the country under this facility following success of a one and half lakh litre desalination plant set up in Chennai at a coastal power plant. In Lakhsdweep islands 2 plants have been set up, each of which is producing one lakh litres of water per day and other 7 islands of Lakshadweep are also being covered with this technology. This technology has stabilised and the first plant at Kavaratti in Lakshadweep is running without closure for the last 6 years.”

Shri Deshmukh said that every pure science research must have its end goal as service to mankind. Shri Deshmukh explained that the world of science is challenging which should not lie in merely discoveries. Referring to the Food Security Mission, launched under the aegis of the Planning Commission,- he elaborated that India’s total demand for food grains is projected to touch 280 million tonnes by the year 2020-21.For this improved monsoon rainfall predictions and associated enhancements to the agro-advisory services have been identified as priority activities. The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ role is very crucial here. The MoES has plans to establish the National Monsoon Mission to address these challenging issues relating to the monsoon rainfall in India. They not only provide fairly accurate monsoon forecasts but also issue weather related agro advisories to farmers so that the ‘kisan’ can plan his farming and increase the productivity of his soil.”

Talking about another priority area of the Ministry he said Science Ministries will facilitate the building of joint projects with Indian research groups and global research community, both of Indian origin or otherwise, to address critical and priority issues so that advances of S & T can contribute to national development.

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The Government is determined to enact the National Food Security Act which will entitle every family below the poverty line to certain quantities of foodgrains at subsidized prices. The legislation will also be used to bring about broader systemic reforms in the Public Distribution System. This was stated by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while addressing a meeting of major foodgrains consuming states here today. He said efforts are being made to move the National Food Security Act in the Parliament during coming session.

Urging the States to improve off take of Public Distribution System (PDS) foodgrains in their respective states, Prof. Thomas said recently Centre has allocated additional five million tonnes each for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families. These allocation have been made at subsidized rates but the off take so far is only around 50%. He urged the states to lift these additional allocation in full and distribute to the targeted beneficiaries.

Briefing the States about initiatives taken by the Centre for creating additional foodgrains storage capacity, Prof. Thomas urged the states ministers to take appropriate steps at their level also for creation of additional capacity at district, sub-divisional, block and at Gram Panchyat by sourcing funds from various developmental schemes such as NABARD. He said that that an Integrated Information System for Food Grains Management (IISFM) had been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) for use in Food Corporation of India (FCI). The project aims at putting an online management system in place to give information about foodgrains management in FCI at any point of time.

The Minister said that Government of India has also taken up several initiatives for computerization of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Some States have also taken several measures towards digitization of beneficiary data, computerizing the allocations to fair price shops, issue of smart cards in place of ration cards, grievance redressal, etc. Other initiatives being taken include, use of GPS technology for trackling of vehicles carrying TPDS commodities, SMS based stock monitoring of fair price shops etc. Prof. Thomas expressed the hope that with these efforts it will possible to create a dynamic and vibrant PDS system in the country.

The meeting was attended by State Ministers and senior officials of nine major foodgrains consuming states, officials from various central ministries and FCI. Issues like availability, storage, movement of foodgrains, status of lifting and PDS reforms were discussed during the day-long meeting.

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Review of Indira Awas Yojana for 2011-12 The Ministry of Rural Development has convened a meeting of the State coordinating officers looking after the implementation of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) for the year 2011-12 at Unnati Conference Hall, Krishi Bhawan on Thursday, the 28th July 2011. High on the agenda would be the issues related to overall physical and financial performance under the rural housing scheme in the current financial year with the emphasis on achievement of physical targets. The meeting will take stock of the monitoring of Special Packages Coverage of SC/ST, Minorities and physically handicapped. Among the financial issues, fulfillment of conditions while releasing 2nd Installment of IAY funds in 2010-11 and release of first Installment for 2011-12 would be discussed.

Under Indira Awas Yojana 1.33 crore houses have been constructed from 2005-06 till 2010-11. In 2010-11 alone, 27.15 lakh houses were constructed under the scheme. The target for the current financial year is construction of 27.26 lakh dwelling units. The budgetary provisions for the scheme stand at Rs. 10,000 crores.

IAY is one of the major flagship programs of the Rural Development Ministry to construct houses for BPL population in the villages. Under the scheme, financial assistance worth Rs. 45,000/- in plain areas and Rs. 48,500/- in difficult areas is provided for construction of houses. In addition, RBI has advised all banks to include IAY houses under DRI scheme for lending up to Rs. 20,000/- per unit at a differential interest rate of 4 per cent. The houses are allotted in the name of the woman or jointly between husband and wife. The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary and engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited. Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah are required to be constructed along with each IAY house for which additional financial assistance is provided from Total Sanitation Campaign and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana respectively.

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Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas has directed FCI to strengthen its quality control mechanism for storage of foodgrains. Senior officials from the Ministry have been asked for regular monitoring of stocks to maintain quality at all levels. Ministry officials have also been directed to take field visits to inspect the storage arrangements and check the quality. This was informed to the Members of State level Consultative Committee by the Minister while chairing its meeting here today.

Members of Parliament heading the Committee of various States raised the issue of storage and upkeep of foodgrains in FCI godowns. Most of them suggested that FCI should have better tie up with the railway for the speedy movements of the foodgrains. They also suggested that scientific methods should be adopted to better storage of foodgrains and private sector should be encourage to construct more godowns. They also raised the issue of labour problem and vacancies to be filled up at the various levels of FCI.

Briefing the Members, the Minister said the Government is very much concerned regarding proper storage and safe upkeep of foodgrains. Steps are being taken to create additional covered storage capacity of more than 152 MTs. Besides this, FCI has been directed to hire additional space from private sources. Mechanized foodgrains handling is being introduced. The Food Ministry is also in touch with Railway Ministry for timely movements of foodgrains from procurement centres to consuming States. He expressed the hope that these efforts will certainly help to improve working of FCI.

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Union Minister of Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh will visit Chhatisgarh on 22nd and 23rd July 2011 to take stock of the progress of the flagship programs of the Ministry in the state. This will be his first visit to the field after taking charge as the Minister of Rural Development on 12th July. Jairam Ramesh will review the performance under rural job guarantee, road connectivity and rural housing with state Government officials on Friday in Kanker district. It would be followed by a meeting with people’s representatives, the MPs/MLAs and Panchayati Raj representatives. On Saturday he would visit Rural Development Ministry project sites in Dhamtari district to have on the spot assessment of the progress of the development programs.

Delayed payment of wages to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers, lack of sufficient number of bank and post office branches in rural and remote areas and slow progress in construction/upgradation of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are among the major concerns in Chattisgarh.

The new Rural Development Minister has set his priorities under which the emphasis would be on a concentrated approach to all rural development programs and their effective and timely implementation in Left Wing Extremist (LWE) affected districts across the country. There are 60 Left Wing Extremist (LWE) affected districts spread over seven states including Chhatisgarh

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