PM draws confidence from Andhra schemes

Launching the second round of land distribution programme in Andhra Pradesh from Medak on Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he is doubly confident of rooting out poverty from the country after witnessing the various poverty alleviation schemes being implemented by the state government.

The state government has made arrangements to distribute over 1.68 lakh acres of cultivable land to the landless rural poor during the current round as compared to about 1.5 lakh acres distributed in the first phase a couple of months ago.

Linking progress with elimination of poverty, he said, "Our country achieved considerable progress in several spheres in the past 50 years. But we need to achieve the level of progress that ensures the complete elimination of poverty from our midst." He said that the next ten years will see a tremendous progress in all spheres.

He was even more specific with regard to providing basic minimum necessities such as health and education in rural areas. "No child will be out of school in the next two-three years' time. No village will be without telephone connectivity in the next five years. We will ensure pure drinking water and road connectivity to each and every village," the Prime Minister said referring to the Centre's latest schemes such as Bharat Nirman and 100-day Employment Guarantee Scheme.

While cautioning against leakages in the implementation of these schemes, Singh specifically appealed to the administration to ensure proper and honest functioning of the Panchayat Raj bodies.

"Each and every scheme should reach the poor, specially to women and children," he said adding that no dividing wall should come between the Government of India, the state government and the people in achieving this goal.

Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy sought special assistance to undertake irrigation projects in the Telangana region costing about Rs 25,000 crore in addition to the ongoing irrigation action plan with an estimated cost of Rs 46,000 crore.

He also urged the Prime Minister to extend the Food for Work Scheme to Medak district. Singh assured special package to Medak for developing it as a model district.

In Medak district, about 25,000 acres of land worth over Rs 125 crore is scheduled to be distributed to over 23,000 beneficiaries along with extending Rs 10,000 assistance per acre to each of them towards land development.