Centre to allocate more funds for rural growth

Plans Rs 65 crore fluoride mitigation centres to purify drinking water

More funds will be allocated for rural development in the Union government's vote- on-account for 2004-05, said Kashiram Rana, Union rural development minister.

The allocation for rural development will be raised to Rs 15,700 crore from Rs 14,400 crore last year, an increase of over eight per cent.

"Out of this Rs 1,300 crore, Rs 600 crore will be allocated for 'Awas Yojana' alone. 15 lakh houses are to be built under the programme. The fund allocation for these houses will also be increased from the existing Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000," Rana, who was in Ahmedabad to inaugurate the National Gram Shree Mela, said.

"The allocation may go up to Rs 19,000 crore," Rana said. The rural development ministry has chalked out a plan to set up fluoride mitigation centres (FMCs) with an investment of Rs 65 crore to check the declining standards of drinking water and to improve the quality of safe drinking water in the country.

The centre will be head quartered at Gandhinagar with its sub-centres at Kolkata, Jaipur, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The centres are being set up on the recommendations of the All India Institute of Public Health (AIIPH), Kolkata.

After three years of research, AIIPH submitted its report to the ministry of rural development in September 2003, stating the need for the centres across the country.

There are more than 1.10 lakh villages in the country, 8,200 in Gujarat, 11,000 in Rajasthan and more than 17,000 in Andhra Pradesh, where water level has gone down in the last five years and water available for drinking contains fluoride, iron and other impurities.

These centres will purify water and make it safe for drinking. The land for this centres will be given by the respective states and in Gujarat, chief minister Narendra Modi has promised 200 acres for the centres.

The ministry is also planning to start a pilot project at cost of Rs 41 crore in Mehasna, Rajkot and Surat to improve the depleting water level in the region.

"In 2004, we are planning to implement our prime minister's vision to provide safe drinking water throughout the country. We have already covered 99 per cent of it and only one per cent is left, that will be covered in this year," said the minister.

The rural development ministry, under its new initiative to promote rural artisans, has allocated Rs 100 crore to set up more than 1,000 'gram haats' throughout the country.

These 'gram haats' will be a permanent place for the village artistians to sell their products.

"Land for this 'gram haats' will be given by the respective state governments. With these 'gram haats', the artistians will not have to travell across the country to market their products and the ministry will ensure that they get best returns on their products." Rana said.