Lok Sabha Question No. 224 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-14
Subject: Access to Basic Amenities
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 224 ANSWERED ON 14/12/2021

## ACCESS TO BASIC AMENITIES

## *224.   SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the measures taken by the Government to reduce the gaps/disparities that exist in access to basic amenities between rural and urban areas;
- (b) whether any initiatives have been taken to ensure the socio-economic security of the rural people during the last three years;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the  Government proposes to formulate  any  policy  for  Smart  Villages  with  all modern amenities; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the table of the house.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION  NO.  224  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  14.12.2021  REGARDING  'ACCESS  TO BASIC AMENITIES'

(a)  to  (c) Various measures taken by the government to improve access to basic amenities in rural areas, and the initiatives to ensure the socio-economic security of the rural people during the last three years include implementation of different Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored programmes/schemes/mission/campaigns by different ministries viz. Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Power and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Important  programmes/schemes/mission/campaigns  been  taken  up  during  the  period  include construction  of  village  roads  (rural  connectivity)  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana (PMGSY),  providing assistance for construction of pucca houses (rural housing) under Pradhan Mantri  Awas  Yojana  -  Gramin  (PMAY-G),  providing  potable  tap  water  supply  to  every household by 2024 under Jal Jeevan Mission, providing access to toilets to all Rural Households under Swacchh Bharat Mission (Grameen), electrification of villages across the country under Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Gram  Jyoti  Yojana,  providing  last  mile  connectivity  and  electricity connection to all households in rural areas under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA), etc. Details of initiatives taken and achievements made during the last three years are at Annexure I.

In  addition,  on  21 st February  2016,  to  bridge  the  rural-urban  gap,  through  stimulating  local economic  development,  enhancement  of  basic  services  and  creating  well  planned Rurban Clusters ,  Shyama  Prasad  Mukherji  Rurban  Mission  (SPMRM)  has  been  launched  by  the Government  of  India.  The  goals  of  the  Mission  are  essentially  to  develop  cluster  of  villages, while  preserving  and  nurturing  the  essence  of  rural  community  life  with  focus  on  equity  and inclusiveness without compromising with the facilities perceived to be essentially urban in nature and creating a cluster of Rurban villages. Details of achievement of the Mission is at Annexure II.

(d) & (e) There is no proposal under consideration with the Ministry of Rural Development, at present, on formulation of policy of Smart Villages with all modern amenities.  However, under SPMRM, different modern amenities  are  being  created  in  rural  areas  through  convergence  of funds and resources under Centrally Sponsored, Central Sector and States schemes incentivized by  dedicated  Critical  Gap  Fund  (CGF).  Some  important  modern  amenities,  created  under  21 components  of  SPMRM  in  the  Rurban  Clusters  across  the  country,  include  creation  of  smart classroom, Wi-Fi hotspots, Citizen Service Centres, Solid and Liquid Waste Treatment Plants, Solar Water Pumps, Water ATMs, e-Rickshaw, Digital Library etc.

************

## A. Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana- Gramin (PMAY-G)

Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) is being implemented with effect from 1 st April, 2016 to provide assistance to eligible rural households for construction of 2.95 crore Pucca houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of 'Housing for All'. Under PMAY-G, the beneficiaries  are  provided  unit  assistance  of  Rs.1.20  lakh  in  plain  areas  and  Rs.  1.30  lakh  in difficult areas, IAP districts and Hilly areas for construction of a house. Further, assistance of Rs. 12,000  is  being  provided  for  construction  of  toilet  to  the  beneficiaries  through  SBM-G, MGNREGS or any other dedicated source of funding. The beneficiaries are also being provided LPG and electricity connection through convergence with schemes of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural  Gas  and  Ministry  of  Power.     Under  PMAY-G,  1,65,93,678  houses  have  been completed as reported by States/UTs on AwaasSoft as on 8.12.202, while work is ongoing on another 36 lacs houses.

## (B)    Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-I) is a one-time special intervention launched by Government  of  India  on  25th  December,  2000  for  providing  connectivity  by  way  of  an  allweather road to the eligible unconnected habitations as per core-network with a population of 500 persons in plain areas. In respect of Special Category States (i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,  Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Sikkim,  Tripura,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Jammu  & Kashmir  and  Uttarakhand), the Desert Areas (as identified in  the  Desert  Development Programme),  the  Tribal  (Schedule  V)  areas  and  Selected  Tribal  and  Backward  Districts  (as identified  by  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  and  Planning  Commission),  the  objective  is  to connect eligible unconnected habitations with a population of 250 persons and above (Census 2001). For most intensive Integrated Action Plan (IAP) blocks as identified by Ministry of Home Affairs  the  unconnected  habitations  with  population  100  and  above  (as  per  2001  Census)  is eligible to be covered under PMGSY.

As  the  programme  unfolded,  a  need  was  felt  for  consolidation  of  the  existing  Rural  Road Network to improve its efficiency not only as a provider of transportation services, but also as a vehicle  of  social  and  economic  development.  Accordingly,  in  the  year  2013,  PMGSY-II  was launched for upgradation of selected Through Routes and Major Rural Links (MRLs) with a target to upgrade 50,000 Km in various states and Union Territories.

Subsequently,  in  2016,  Road  Connectivity  Project  for  Left  Wing  Extremism  Affected  Areas (RCPLWEA) for construction/upgradation of strategically important roads was launched as a separate vertical under PMGSY.

Union Government had approved the PMGSY III programme in 2019, which mainly focuses on the consolidation of existing Through routes and Major Rural Links that connect habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.

Since inception till 7 th December 2021, 7,77,646 km road length with value of projects of Rs. 3,25,109  crore  has  been  sanctioned  and  6,79,923  km  road  length  has  been  constructed  at  an expenditure  of  Rs.  2,63,864  crore  (including  state  share).  Moreover,  since  inception,  till

## ANNEXURE-I

07.12.2021,  1,57,376  habitations   in  population  category  250+  have  been  sanctioned  for providing connectivity against which, 1,55,480 habitations have been provided connectivity. In the  population  category  100-249,  6,260  habitations  have  been  sanctioned  against  which  5,812 habitations  have  been  provided  connectivity,  exclusive  of  habitations  that  have  already  been connected by the State Govts. from their own programmes.

Physical achievements and the details of fund release and expenditure under PMGSY incurred during last three years and the current year are as follows:

Physical achievements of PMGSY during the last three years and the current year as on 8 th December 2021-

| Year               | Sanctioned Length (km)   | Completed Length (km)   |
|--------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------|
| 2018-19            | 38,988.679               | 48,093.287              |
| 2019-20            | 27,676.236               | 27,304.586              |
| 2020-21            | 44,172.211               | 36,674.484              |
| 2021-22(as of now) | 17,567.678               | 17,340.509              |

Financial achievements of PMGSY during the last three years and the current year as on 8 th December 2021-

| Year               |   Release (Rs. in crore) |   Expenditure including state share (Rs. in crore) |
|--------------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 2018-19            |                  15389.2 |                                            23369.4 |
| 2019-20            |                  13995.9 |                                            21723.9 |
| 2020-21            |                  13651.5 |                                            23935   |
| 2021-22(as of now) |                   7462   |                                            15064.2 |

## (C)    Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) -

Since  August  2019,  aiming  at  universal  coverage  and  to  enable  every  rural  household  of  the country,  including  those  in  scheduled  castes  and  scheduled  tribes  dominated  areas,  to  have provision of potable tap water supply by 2024, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  after  subsuming  erstwhile  National  Rural  Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), with an estimated outlay of Rs.3.60 lakh crore.

To boost the rural economy, Government of India has budgeted more than 50 thousand crores in 2021-22 for the implementation of the mission in rural areas across the country.

Moreover,  under  the  Mission,  Gram  Panchayat  and  /  or  its  sub-committee/  user  group,  i.e., Village  Water  and  Sanitation  Committee  (VWSC)/  Pani  Samiti,   has  been  empowered  for creation of water supply infrastructure and subsequent operation and maintenance of in-village water supply system and accordingly there is a huge requirement of skilled human resources in rural areas, viz. masons, plumbers, fitters, electricians, motor mechanics, pump operators etc., for which skilling of people living in villages is also being promoted under the Mission.

As on 10th December 2021, Functional Household Tap Connections have been provided to 8.65 Crore households which is 48 % of a total household size at 19.22 crore. This has risen from 16.8 % coverage of households on 15th August 2019.

## (D)   Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM(G)] -

Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM(G)] with effect from 2nd October, 2014 with the main aim to make the rural areas of the country Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2 nd October, 2019, by providing  access  to  toilets  to  all  the  rural  households.  As  sanitation  is  a  State  subject  the programme  has  been  implemented  by  the  State  Governments.   Government  of  India  provides technical and financial support to supplement the efforts of the State Governments.  As reported by the States/UTs on the online Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of SBM(G), more  than  10.8  crore  individual  household  latrines  (IHHLs)  have  been  constructed  since  2 nd October, 2014 so far. All the villages declared themselves ODF by 2 nd October, 2019.  Having achieved the outcomes of the ODF, Phase II of SBM (G) is now being implemented with the goal  to  convert  all  the  villages  from  ODF  to  ODF  Plus  by  2024-25,  i.e.  to  sustain  their  ODF status and to make arrangements for solid and liquid waste management.

## (E)    DeenDayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)  -

DDUGJY was launched in December 2014 for rural electrification works including operation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders, strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution  infrastructure,  metering  at  distribution  transformers  /  feeders  /  consumers  and electrification of villages across the country.   All villages in the country stand electrified as on 28 th April, 2018.

## (F)    Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya)  -

The  Saubhagya  Yojana  was  launched  in  October  2018  to  achieve  universal  household electrification by providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all households in rural areas and all poor households in urban areas across the country.  Under Saubhagya scheme, as  on  31.03.2021,  all  the  States  including  Karnataka,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  North  Eastern  States have reported 100% electrification of all the willing un-electrified households, identified before 31.03.2019.   Total  2.817  crore  households  have  been  electrified  since  the  launch  of  the Saubhagya scheme up to 31.03.2021.

## ANNEXURE-II

Shyama Prasad  Mukherji  Rurban  Mission  (SPMRM)  was  launched  in  February  21 st ,  2016  to deliver catalytic interventions to rural areas on the threshold of growth. It is an attempt to make the selected rural and tribal areas socially, economically and physically sustainable regions and strives to strengthen by providing economic, social, basic and digital amenities, thus leading to sustainable  and  balanced  regional  development  in  the  country.  300  Rurban  Clusters  with thematic economic growth points are being developed across the country under this innovative Mission.

The  Mission  focuses  on  holistic  development  of  clusters  and  to  ensure  an  optimum  level  of development, twenty-one desirable components which are as under:

1. Piped Water Supply
2. Sanitation
3. Solid & Liquid waste management
4. Access to village streets with Drains
5. Village street lights & electrification
6. Inter village roads connectivity
7. Public transport
8. LPG Gas connection
9. Skill development training linked to economic activities
10. Agri-service processing & allied activities
11. Education
12. Health
13. Digital Literacy
14. Citizen service Centres
15. Environment
16. Employment Generation & SHG Formation
17. Tourism Promotion
18. Sports Infrastructure
19. Social Infrastructure
20. Rural Housing
21. Social Welfare

The physical and financial progress made under SPMRM during the last three are as under:

## Physical progress (Cumulative):

|                 | FY 2018-19   | FY 2019-20   | FY 2020-21   |
|-----------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| ICAPs approved  | 272          | 288          | 290          |
| DPRs approved   | 94           | 248          | 281          |
| Works completed |              |              |              |

Financial progress(Cumulative):

(Rupees in crore)

|                         |   FY 2018-19 |   FY 2019-20 |   FY 2020-21 |
|-------------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| CGF Expenditure         |       505.19 |       605.21 |       739.45 |
| Convergence Expenditure |      2678.65 |      2809.17 |      2961.29 |
| Total Expenditure       |      3183.84 |      3414.38 |      3700.74 |