Poverty-free village is my dream: Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Hyderabad: Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said a poverty-free village was his dream. Addressing the gathering after attending 66th general council meeting of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj here, “Nobody should be poor in villages and everyone should be employed. Mahatma Gandhi’s vision was Gram Swaraj and when we talk about the development of villages, infrastructural development takes the front seat.”
“The villages need proper road connectivity, potable water, strong and spacious school buildings, Panchayat Bhawan, health facilities, etc.,” he said, adding that the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) in 2000, and the projects were taken forward by the visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When rural infrastructure development was discussed, Jal Jeevan Mission was another scheme worth mentioning, he said.
Referring to the Aajeevika scheme, the Minister said due to the training and capacity building given to women across India, they are emerging as leaders. “Women play a key part in contributing to the economy of the nation by performing a multitude of roles. We are striving hard to bring all the necessary facilities to villages. Apart from the significant role played by NIRDPR in the form of a think tank to the Ministry, more capacity building and training activities are needed,” he said.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan further urged the students doing postgraduate programmes in NIRDPR to work for rural development. On the occasion, two MoUs with JNU, New Delhi, for the Ph.D. program and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, were signed in the presence of the dignitaries.
