BANGALORE: With just two-and-a-half months left for the current fiscal to finish, the state government has so far spent only `1,120 crore as against its target of Rs 2,000 crore under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.
This poor spending comes at a time when 99 taluks in the state are reeling under severe drought triggering demand for work.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar himself admitted the state’s tardy progress in implementing the scheme. However, he expressed confidence of meeting the target by the end of March 31.
He also dismissed the findings of India Governs Research Institute, which had found that less money was spent in 2010-11 when compared to the previous year. The NREGP is a demand-based programme. If there is more demand, the expenditure will be more, else expenditure will automatically come down.
Shettar said in 2009-10, there were 62.44 lakh job cards in the state.
SUVARNA GRAM YOJANE
Shettar said that the department was mulling to take up another 1,000 villages under Suvarna Grama Yojane and a formal request will be made to the CM to announce the same in the coming budget.
So far, around 3,300 villages have been taken-up under the scheme. Shettar said the government had released Rs 30 crore last week to address drinking water problems in various districts.
“The process of identifying villages facing drinking water problems has begun.”