Bundel: Cong sends team to check progress of projects
Even as deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that it is too early to make any assessment of the impact of special package to Bundelkhand, Congress has sent a central team to the region (districts falling under Madhya Pradesh) to look into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the ambitious projects spearheaded by party general secretary and youth icon Rahul Gandhi.
The team comprises of AICC general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh B.K. Hari Prasad and MPCC president Suresh Pachauri. The decision to send the team has come following Congress MLAs from the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh met young Gandhi last week and complained of irregularities in the implementation of the special package for Bundelkhand.
The two visiting leaders will submit their report in a week’s time to party president Sonia Gandhi and also the young party leader, whose efforts saw the government declaring a package for the backward area falling in two states — MP and UP. In their meeting with young Gandhi, the MLAs from the area complained that the money was not being used for the purpose it was meant. They wanted strict monitoring of the projects and accused the BJP-ruled state government of committing irregularities.
“We have reports of misuse of the funds...We will find it out,” a senior party functionary said, while confirming that the leaders have gone to ground zero. He said the extent of “misuse” would be known only after their return from the region.
Meanwhile, when asked about the progress made against the package given to the region, Mr Ahluwalia said, “Strict monitoring mechanism is there in place. But it is too early now to make a real assessment of the amount used and benefit reaped.” On November 20, 2009, the Union Cabinet had approved a special package of Rs 7,266 crores for drought relief and integrated water management in the Bundelkhand region.
The scheme is to be implemented over three years in seven districts of UP and six districts of Madhya Pradesh and it aims to bring seven lakh hectares of land in UP and four lakh hectares in MP under watershed development measures.
In the package, an additional 60,000 hectares of forest areas in UP and two lakh hectares of forest areas in MP will be taken up for integrated conservation and management of rainfall, soil, and biomass in the natural sequence of watershed treatment.
Moreover, around 20,000 new wells in each state will be dug and 30,000 farm ponds constructed to store rainwater for providing irrigation as part of the package.
The package came after Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with the leaders of both the states and emphasised on the need for it.
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