The Government will next week restart building houses and roads in the villages across the country, in addition to running the rural job programme again.
With the lockdown, which was imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, being relaxed from Monday, the Union Ministry of Rural Development is coordinating with the State Governments to restart the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) along with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
The move is apparently aimed at speeding up the process of easing the distress on rural economy, caused by the nationwide lockdown.
The Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), however, asked the State governments to ensure strict adherence to the social distancing norms by the workers in order to keep the COVID-19 virus away while implementing the schemes.
Rural Development Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, on Saturday had a video-conference with the ministers and officials of the state governments.
He conveyed to the State governments that while implementing PMAY (G), priority should be given to complete the 48 lakh dwelling units, where third and fourth installments of fund had already been given to the beneficiaries of the scheme. He stressed on quick award of tenders in sanctioned road projects and starting pending road projects after restarting the implementation of the PMGSY.
Though the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is very serious, it must be perceived as an opportunity by the governments all the States and the Union Territories to develop and strengthen rural infrastructure, create employment opportunities in rural areas and facilitate diversification of rural livelihoods, Tomar said during the two-hour-long video-conference.
He emphasised that the focus of MGNREGS implementation should be on water conservation, water recharge and irrigation works in convergence with the schemes of Ministry of Jal Shakti and Department of Land Resources of the MoRD.
Soon after the Union Government on March 24 imposed the lockdown as well as travel and transport curbs to contain the pandemic, implementation of the MGNREGS, PMGSY, PMAY (G) and other schemes of the MoRD came to a halt.
The lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end on April 14, has now been extended till May 3. But the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued revised guidelines for the extended period. It also announced certain exemptions that would come into effect next Monday. The works under the MGNREGS has now been included in the list of exemptions from the lockdown.
The Centre later announced that rural construction works would also be exempted from lockdown from Monday till May 3.