The Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh today favoured the idea of fast-track courts to settle land right issues in naxal affected areas in the country. Addressing the state Revenue Ministers Conference on modernization of land records in New Delhi, Mr. Ramesh said that if the issue of land rights of tribals would have been handled effectively, the naxal menace could have been tackled in an effective fashion. He called for the replication of the Andhra Pradesh model, where para-legal army helps the tribals to fight court cases.

The minister said that in many instances, the land belonging to the poor tribals were being grabbed forcibly by the powerful vested interests and therefore there is need for the proper survey and modernization of the land records. He said that his ministry will soon take up the issue with the Law Ministry.

The Government has asked the states to identify development projects under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, to ensure work available for those labourers who are in distress due to impending drought situation in some parts of the country. The move comes in view of lower rainfall in some parts of the country and this may lead to an increased demand for employment under MGNREGA. 

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, the Minister of State for Rural Development, Pradeep Jain said that his Ministry has already written to the Chief Ministers of states to prepare a contingency plan for meeting increased demand for employment under the scheme. He said the states have been assured that in drought like conditions, the central government will be open to revision in the labour budget for the current financial year to meet the increased demand for employment. Mr. Jain said, the state governments have also been advised to prepare supplementary projects to meet increased demand.

The Government will install one lakh bio-toilets in about 300 backward Gram Panchayats in the country in next two years. This will make the villages open defecation free. Announcing this in New Delhi, Rural Development Minister Mr Jairam Ramesh said, the project will entail a cost of 150 crore rupees in the first phase. 

Mr Ramesh was speaking after the signing of an MoU between the Defence Research and Development Organisation , DRDO, and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for Bio-Digester based Eco-friendly toilets developed by DRDO.

He said, his Ministry has also offered to install with DRDO built bio-toilets in all new railways coaches and to share half the cost of retrofitting all existing 50,000 coaches in the next four to five years. He informed that the whole project will cost about 500 crore rupees and offered to share the burden on a 50 to 50 basis with the Railways.

The Minister said there are three dimensions to sanitation challenge in the country and the solution must be found to tackle the same.

Referring to the fact that 60 percent of all open defecations in the world happen in India, Mr Ramesh promised to make the country open defecation free in the next ten years. He said, 11 million passengers travel every day by train and at present waste is dumped directly onto the tracks because of the existing toilet system in trains.

The Minister said the DRDO technology is an important route and not a magic bullet, but he expressed the hope that in the long run it will bring about a revolution in the rural areas if pursued in a mission mode manner.

Mr.Kulandai Francis who has been awarded with Magsaysay says, working with the objective of eradicating poverty and empowering more than one lakh rural women for 35 long years has got him award. Talking to AIR News, he said that he did not expect to get the prestigious award.

Reeling in poverty during childhood days in Salem, Mr. Francis had to struggle hard to get a basic education. The only land which the family had to be sold in order to get him a graduate education. The inspiration to work for the upliftment and empowerment came to him when he was involved in relief work during the Bangladeshi war and also during drought in Pune in 1972.

His organisation, the Integrated Village Development Project provides training to rural students and also in enhancing their skills namely training in rural sanitation,accountancy,management, giving educational assistance for students in high schools, scholarships and also computer skills. The visionary Mr. Francis was also successful in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families. His organisation has built science labs, computer labs, solar lamps in schools situated in many backward areas of Krishnagiri district.

Through more than 8500 self help groups, the organisation has encouraged savings and credit activities among the economically backward. They were able to build atleast 300 check dams in the region to save water for irrigation and drinking purposes.HIV testing for pregnant women, setting up of non formal schools for child labourers, providing sanitation facilities in the tribal areas are also part of the yeoman service rendered by the Integrated Village Development Program founded by Mr. Kulandai Francis.
He says that living in poverty is terrible and wants to fulfil his obejctive of wiping out poverty from the Country.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said he is not in favour of allocating the mines in Saranda in West Singhbhum district to the private sector. The Minister, who visited various panchayats to review implementation of development plan, told reporters on Sunday that iron ore mines in Asia's largest 'Sal' forest should not be allocated to the private sector.
Refuting allegations that government mining policy was aimed to encourage private players, Mr.Ramesh said, Maoists were spreading such allegations to hamper development work. He, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of development work in the area.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that the fiscal situation in the country needs careful management and determined measures are required to boost the climate for industrial investment, both domestic and foreign.

Speaking at a function organised at the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi yesterday to mark the completion of the third year of the UPA-II Government, Dr Singh said his government is facing pressures on the balance of payments situation. He said that the government will take difficult decisions on spending and revenue mobilisation.

Dr.Singh also underlined the need to resolve issues relating to land acquisition, the resettlement and the environment on priority basis and strengthen the food security system by building more storage capacity. He further said, poverty has declined at twice the rate that it did before the UPA government's tenure.

The Prime Minister said, rural wages have also increased. This year has seen record foodgrain production, crossing 250 million tonnes for the first time in the country’s history.

The Prime Minister further said that despite an adverse international environment, the Indian economy grew by about 7 per cent in 2011-12, which is amongst the highest in the world.

In her brief address, UPA Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that the ruling alliance can earn another mandate only on the basis of its actions in the coming two years and not promises.

She said since UPA took charge of the government, India has been advancing on the growth map in a sustained manner because of which it has been able to provide money for projects of social and rural development.

Rural Development Ministry has agreed to share one percent of its one lakh crore rupees budget for strengthening the institution of Panchayati Raj in the country. This was stated by the Panchayti Raj Minister, V Kishore Chandra Deo at a function organised to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day in New Delhi today.
Mr. Deo said that the Ministry of Rural Development has a budget of nearly one lakh crore and out of that one percent is being given to the Panchayati Raj Ministry which means that approximately 990 crore rupees will be given to the Ministry. Mr. Deo also said that it was for the first time that the Rural Development Ministry would be sharing some of its allotted funds with the Panchayati Raj Ministry. Mr. Deo said, there is a need to strengthen the infrastructure of Panchayats in the country and the money shared by the Rural Development Ministry will also contribute to it. Mr. Deo also said that his Ministry will further strengthen the infrastructure of Panchayati institutions.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that revised guidelines for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, will be prepared by the 15th of next month and the new face of the scheme MGNREGA-2 will be ready by the end of May 2012. Talking to media in Bhopal today, he said that his Ministry has accepted a report of Mihir Sen Committee in this regard. Mr. Ramesh said that thirty new works under MGNREGA have also been recommended. Out of these 27 are related with agriculture. He said that Rural Development Ministry has given approval to include these works in MNREGA. Mr. Jairam Ramesh said that CAG will do audit of MNREGA from this financial year. Action will be taken on the reports of CAG. In the first phase, audit will take place in 12 states including Madhya Pradesh. Union Rural Development Minister said that he has written letters to chief ministers of states to institutionalize social auditing of MNREGA. He said that irregularities to the tune of one hundred twenty crore rupees came to fore during social auditing in Andhra Pradesh. Social auditing is performed by village panchayats. He said that Andhra Pradesh stands first in implementation of MNREGA while Uttar Pradesh comes among the worst performers. Mr. Ramesh said that ninety nine thousand crore rupees have been allocated in the union budget for the rural development programmes this year. Out of this, Madhya Pradesh is likely to get about seven thousand five hundred crore rupees.

An ambitious plan is on the anvil to take the message of sanitation to every door step in villages. The objective will be to make the country free from open defecation free in 10 years.

To push the agenda forward, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has written a letter to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad suggesting that the services of around eight lakh women volunteers of National Rural Health Mission can be utilized to promote awareness on sanitation in rural areas. 

Ramesh said that his Ministry can also consider giving financial incentives every month to the Accredited Social Health Activist workers, ASHAS, for motivating villagers to build toilets. 

He said the Ministry is ready to give them a performance based incentive of 75 rupees per toilet built.

India and Germany have signed an agreement to finance clean energy for rural development projects. As per the agreement, KfW(German Development Bank) will provide a loan amount of 100.1 million Euros to Rural Electrification Corporation, REC, to support such projects in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

The loan agreement was signed by Mr Rajeev Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of REC and Mr Oscar von Maltzan, Country Director of KfW for India in New Delhi. A Guarantee Agreement was also signed between KfW and the Government of India. This is the third Line of Credit that REC is receiving under the Bilateral Development Programme between India and Germany.