Watershed development scheme soon

After his birthday gift to the nation, a scheme for providing drinking water in rural areas, the Prime Minister is now going to inaugurate another scheme for the villages. Called ‘‘Hariyali’’, it will focus on watershed development through the panchayats.

Out of a total of Rs 1,070 crores envisaged for the scheme, the Centre is going to pay Rs 885 crore and the states would pay Rs 185 crore in addition to the technical support. ‘‘It envisages a new role for the panchayati raj institutions in the development of villages,’’ Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar said while announcing the details of the scheme.

The PM would hold consultations with ministers and secretaries of rural development, panchayati raj and PWD to review the progress of implementation of other schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana and Sampoorna Gramin Rozgaar Yojana.