Andhra Pradesh is all set to achieve the target of having Cement Concrete (CC) roads in all villages by 2020 under the MGNREGA scheme after standing first in the country by completing 10,000 km in the last two years, Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar said here on Friday.
Mr. Kumar told The Hindu that the remaining 15,000 km length of CC roads would be laid at the rate of 5,000- 6,000 km every year in the next three years. Village CC road network was not the only area in which A.P. stood first, it also topped in digging as many as four lakh farm ponds under MGNREGA during the last two years, he added.
Mr. Kumar, who made a presentation on convergence in MGNREGA in AP at a meeting of Chief Secretaries with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi recently, said the State had effectively used MGNREGA for creating durable assets and became a good example for others to follow. Credit should go to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for giving top priority to these works.
Green drive
The focus was on ensuring individual benefits, creation of rural infrastructure and natural resource management, he said. Another innovation initiated under MGNREGS works was to take up plantation of saplings in 4,000 hectares on hillslopes that will help in conserving nature and increasing the green cover. The State has built 2,200 Anganwadi and 1700 gram panchayat office buildings under MGNREGS.
It was not only about what the State had achieved but also its requirements. At the meeting organised by the NITI Aayog with theme, ‘States as drivers for transforming India’’ and achieving sustainable development goals, he also highlighted certain issues faced by the State.
These include delay in release of MGNREGA funds and inadequate funds under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana and for Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) under the Swachh Bharat programme.
