The elevation of Jairam Ramesh to the Cabinet rank in the rural development ministry has been done for an important reason. The government wants to put him at the forefront of its spending on rural development programmes in the next two-and-a-half years to the next Lok Sabha elections, due in three years.
Ramesh’s role would be to guide the spending on employment, rural roads and housing judiciously during the period.
The total budget allocation for the ministry in 2011-12 is Rs 74,100 crore. Of this, Rs 40,000 crore has been allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
For the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the allocation for the current financial year is Rs 20,000 crore.
| RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Budget estimate in Rs crore | |
| Programme | (2011-12) |
| Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme | 40,000 |
| Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana | 20,000 |
| Rural Housing | 10,000 |
| Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana | 2,914 |
| Other spending | 1,186 |
| Total | 74,100 |
| Source: Department of Rural Development | |
Besides, the ministry has been provided Rs 10,000 crore for rural housing. This takes the government’s spending on key rural development programmes — employment, roads and housing — for this year to Rs 70,000 crore. Further, Rs 2,914 crore has been allocated for the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. Efficient and result-oriented spending in these areas, in close coordination with states, is expected to have a significant bearing on political prospects in the next Parliamentary elections.
MGNREGS aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to one adult member of rural households.
According to the latest data available for 2011-12, of the Rs 7,000 crore released for the scheme so far in the current financial year and an almost equal amount unspent from last year, only Rs 2,000 crore has been spent so far.
Similarly, PMGSY and rural housing schemes also need a push to deliver the desired results. As the new rural development minister, Ramesh is expected to drive spending in these schemes.
