Union Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that Government is committed to providing good amenities, jobs and infrastructure in the rural areas on a priority basis. He said by providing basic facilities to all the stakeholders in the rural areas, the problem of migration can be tackled in an effective fashion. Shri Gadkari was speaking here after launching Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherji RURBAN Mission which will be modeled on the best practices of PURA( providing urban amenities in rural areas) scheme. In the first phase Rs 100 crore will be spent on three identified projects in Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh and Sangli and Buldhana Districts of Maharashtra. The Minister laid emphasis on linking the RURBAN Mission with e-governance and achieving the targets in a time bound manner. He said, the best practices of Cooperatives, NGOs and other sectors can also be dovetailed into the scheme.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Upendra Kushwaha said, the lack of basic amenities and lack of jobs in the rural areas are responsible for problems like extremism and migration. He said, the Rural Development Ministry alone runs 28 schemes for welfare of the poor people but despite that their conditions have not improved. He also called for sufficient caution for remodeling the old PURA scheme into RURBAN Mission.
Finance Secretary Shri Arvind Mayaram said that the new RURBAN Mission will address one of the biggest challenges of our times and that is migration from rural to urban areas. He said, in the decade of 1990s the rate of migration was 20 percent and if it is not checked in the right earnest, the Indian cities will not remain livable by 2032. Shri Mayaram emphasized that urbanization of rural areas is a must and he emphasized that every State Government should be asked to create a Special Purpose Vehicle for effective implementation of the new Mission. In his address, Secretary, Rural Development Shri L.C.Goyal called for credible convergence of ideas and schemes to take the Mission forward. He said RURBAN is an idea whose time has come for improving the living conditions of millions of people in the rural areas and specially those living at the bottom of the pyramid. Shri Goyal expressed the hope that if properly implemented the Mission will be able to eliminate poverty from this country in the next 8 to 10 years.