New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday inaugurated a PNG facility in 41 villages and development works in 178 others in Delhi under the Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan, officials said.
Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena were present during the event.
Shah said the day is important for Delhi’s rural areas as piped gas has now started reaching 41 villages.
Along with this, development works for 178 villages worth Rs 383 crore are also being launched. A total Rs 900 crore had been allocated for the development of infrastructure and improving the standards of living in villages of Delhi but the money was not being utilised, he claimed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave LPG cylinders to 13 crore “mothers” of the country, provided piped natural gas (PNG) to homes of one crore people, tap water to 14 crore homes, built 14 crore toilets, more than three crore houses and provided five kilogrammes of free foodgrains per person per month to 60 crore people, Shah said.
Addressing a gathering, Saxena said the Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan was started in December by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), taking inspiration from the prime minister’s dream to uplift villages.
“We all know that the whole Delhi is settled and developed on village land. In this context, it was necessary that the villages of Delhi should have all the facilities that are available in other areas of the city. When I visited Delhi’s rural area for the first time, I could not believe that in the middle of the country’s national capital, even the basic facilities were not available,” Saxena said.
“There was no water supply, no good roads, no street lights, no ponds, no sewer lines, no place for children to play, and no parks. When I saw this situation, I took five villages of Delhi and decided to develop them,” he added.
According to a statement, the Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan’s mission is to develop and create necessary infrastructure in the urbanised villages and new urban areas of Delhi, for which a fund of Rs 960 crore has been made available to the DDA.
This fund was lying unused with the city government’s Revenue department for many years. Recently, the fund was transferred to the DDA at the instance of Saxena. In record time of just three months, projects worth Rs 383 crore have already been sanctioned in various villages of Delhi during the current financial year, it said.
The Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan’s objectives include enhancing quality of life of the villagers by identifying and addressing gaps in infrastructure and civic amenities, strategic planning tailored to local needs, fostering active community participation in decision-making processes and equitable access to community assets and opportunities, it said.
To achieve this objective, the Lt Governor has constituted the Delhi Village Development and Welfare Committee under district magistrates of the districts concerned for identifying the works and schemes to be implemented under the programme, in consultation with local representatives, representatives of villagers and local agencies, the statement said.
Under the Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan, construction and improvement of roads, drains, footpaths, and central verges, along with horticulture work, provisioning of sewage treatment plants and decentralised sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, rainwater harvesting, development and maintenance of ponds and water bodies, development of parks, playground and sports facilities, village library, community halls and cattle care, among others, are being carried out, it said.
PNG supply in 41 villages has also been started by spreading a 100-kilometre pipeline network at a cost of Rs 20 crore by the Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL). The Centre is committed to provide green energy in the national capital as PNG is safe, affordable and eco-friendly, the statement added.
In Delhi, IGL has reached 1.5 million households, for which a 11,000-kilometre pipeline network has been laid. It has covered all the urban areas and is now expanding its network in rural areas as well, it added. PTI NIT NIT SZM
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