Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said that the government attaches great importance to laying of roads in naxal-affected areas.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of his visit to the Anantapur district, he said that providing connectivity to rural habitations in naxal-hit regions in the country has been identified as a priority to ensure that the fruits of the progress being made by the country reaches them, eventually leading to decline in Maoist movement.
The Minister was in Anantapur district to lay the foundation stone for 162 rural roads granted under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). He unveiled a pylon at the Kalyandurgam MRO office in this connection.
The Union Rural Development Ministry granted 162 rural roads connecting 195 habitations with a population of over 250 and below 500. In all 456 k.m. roads would be laid at a cost of Rs. 145 crores.
“Ensure that each home has a toilet and belt shops are removed from the vicinity of your villages,” he said highlighting that the government was extending Rs. 10,000 for construction of toilets.
