WAYANAD: Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the State-level Committee (SLC) which considers the proposal pertaining to projects under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) has neglected Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts of Kerala.
Drawing attention of the State government to the matter through a letter to Chief Secretary V P Joy, Gandhi said he had forwarded 57 proposals under the PMJVK, but the SLC considered only six of them.
"The glaring difference between the list of proposals submitted by the district-level committees of Wayanad Parliamentary constituency and the list being considered by the State-level committee reflects the neglect of the developmental needs of the only aspirational district," Gandhi said in his letter dated January 27.
He said the revised PMJVK guidelines stipulate that the State government may prioritise projects for aspirational districts.
The Wayanad MP alleged that the diluted list of proposals, being considered by the SLC, does a disservice to the spirit of PMJVK and the erstwhile multi-sectoral developmental programme.
He said the district-level committee of Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode had submitted 37, 17 and 3 proposals respectively from Wayanad constituency to the Directorate of Minority Welfare.
"But, the agenda note circulated for the State-level committee meeting for PMJVK on January 20, 2023, lists only 4 proposals from Wayanad, 2 from Malappuram and no proposals from Kozhikode for consideration," Gandhi said.
He requested the SLC to look into this matter and approve an adequate number of projects for Wayanad.
In October 2022, he said he forwarded the proposals from Wayanad to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and requested the State government to extend all possible support for creating quality infrastructure and assets under the PMJVK.