Telangana Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development K.T. Rama Rao left for Kovalam on Monday to participate in the regional Rural Development Ministers meeting on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) on January 6.
He will reiterate the State government’s request to the Centre against downsizing the rural employment guarantee programme and will mobilise the participating States’ support against the Centre’s move.
The Minister is accompanied by Principal Secretary (PR & RD) J. Raymond Peter and Commissioner of Rural Development Venkateshwarlu. The Minister is also likely to take up a field visit to study the panchayat raj system in Kerala on January 7.
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Rural Development ministers and officials from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Goa, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep will participate in the meet, according to the officials here.
Apart from reviewing the implementation of MGNREGS, the meet would discuss the steps for strengthening the programme further. Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Chaudhary Birender Singh and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will also attend the meeting.
The success stories of MGNREGS in the participating States and implementation models would also be discussed at length at the meeting, officials said. Mr. Rama Rao would highlight the resolution adopted by the Telangana Assembly against downsizing the employment guarantee scheme and the progress and successes made possible by it at the regional event.
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