New Delhi: In a run up to the Union Budget 2018, ministry of rural development has written to the finance ministry for additional allocation worth Rs 21,700 crore, secretary of department of rural development said on Wednesday.
“We have asked for an extra Rs 21,700 crore. This is in addition to the revised budget estimates. The finance ministry has made it easy for us to borrow from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). We expect budgetary allocation to more or less similar to the amount provided last year. The final numbers will obviously be announced by the finance minister on budget day,” said Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, department of rural development.
According to the Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Statement prepared by the ministry of finance, laid before the Parliament on 10 August 2017, as required under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, revised budget estimates for 2016-17 in the rural development space was Rs 1,14,747 crore while budget estimates for 2017-18 is Rs 1,28,320.
The secretary explained that revised estimates are always more than the budget estimates as the allocated budget is never enough.
MTEF also projected budget estimates for 2018-19 to be Rs 1,38,082 crore and Rs 1,53,939 crore for 2019-20.
Rural development has been BJP’s cornerstone ahead of the Budget as well as the 2019 general elections.
In addition to the existing target under the Pardhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) the secretary informed that the ministry is planning to build 1.5 crore more homes for homeless families after the initial target is completed. “There will be 4,33,000 new homes built in the country by 2022,” he said.
While Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have been the top states in construction of houses for the poor, Assam has been battling with flood woes resulting in slow progress. The data to recognize poor families is based on the 2011 socio economic caste consensus and is passed through Gram Sabha to avoid forgery.
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