Addressing the national workshop of district rural development agencies (DRDAs), rural areas and employment minister K Yerrannaidu said resource crunch was often cited as the main reason for the slow pace of development activities.
In the case of rural development, this will not be so. The Union government has taken care of this very liberally,the minister declared.
At the same time, he reminded the district rural development agencies that mere pumping of more funds was not enough to speed up the pace of development in the countryside.
Some fundamental structural changes were necessary to bring about better results.
The minister suggested that the rights of the beneficiaries of these projects should be clearly defined.
The selection of beneficiaries, too, needed to be improved. Though the selection work was entrusted to a grassroots body like the gram sabha, ineligible persons managed to corner the benefits quite often.
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Referring to the role of the non-governmental organisations, the minister said these agencies should become more accountable not only to the government which was partly funding their activities but also to the people.
Project directors of district rural development agencies from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, besides Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry are attending the two-day workshop.
The workshop has been convened by the rural areas and employment ministry.