Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Dalits, OBCs and tribals were the biggest beneficiaries of his government’s pro-poor schemes and added that its greatest achievement in the past ten years was to pull 25 crore people out of poverty.
The Prime Minister was addressing the ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit Gujarat’ programme via video conferencing, during which he inaugurated and laid the foundation for over 1.3 lakh homes in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and other housing schemes.
“The biggest beneficiaries of our government’s pro-poor schemes are Dalits, OBCs (other backward castes) and tribals,” Modi said, responding to the opposition’s allegations that his government is ignoring SCs, STs and OBCs. Modi said that the poor, youth, farmers and women are pillars of developed India.
During the programme, he also interacted with the beneficiaries of the housing schemes and said that it marked the fulfilment of “Modi ki guarantee”.
The programme was organised at more than 180 places across all districts of Gujarat, with the main programme held at Deesa in Banaskantha district.
Prime Minister Modi said that the construction of houses for the poor is taking place at a rapid pace when compared to the pre-2014 period. He said funding for the construction of houses for the poor was meagre and there were leakages in the form of commissions etc. during earlier times. The money transferred for homes of the poor is now more than ₹2.25 lakhs and is being transferred directly into their bank accounts, eliminating the middlemen, he said.
He also said that now there’s freedom of building homes according to the needs of the families while also building toilets, tap water connections, supplying electricity and gas connections. “These facilities have helped the poor in saving money”, he said. PM Modi also emphasised that the houses are now registered in the name of women making them houseowners.
The Prime Minister noted the strides made by Gujarat in PM Awas Yojana and said that more than 9 lakh houses have been constructed in the urban areas of the state. Under PM Awas – Gramin, more than 5 lakh houses have been constructed in the rural areas. He said new technology is being deployed to ensure quality and rapid construction. He said 1,100 houses have been constructed under the Lighthouse project.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence and urged the beneficiaries to come forward and support this initiative and contribute to uprooting poverty.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister expressed happiness that people from every part of the state are part of Gujarat’s development journey. He recalled his participation in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January which has completed 20 years and lauded the state government for its efforts.
He emphasised that a house owned by the poor ensures a brighter future for them. The Prime Minister underscored the government’s continuous endeavors to build new homes for every underprivileged individual as families expanded.
“See the figure of 1.3 lakh houses. Even when I attended a national-level programme for giving houses under PMAY, I did not see such a huge figure. I congratulate the Gujarat government. For any poor person, having his own house is a guarantee of his better future… When work of such scale comes to completion, the nation calls it ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ which means guarantee of fulfilment of the guarantee,” he said in his speech.
Recalling the water scarcity in the region in the past, the Prime Minister mentioned initiatives like Per Drop More Crop and drip irrigation which have helped agriculture in Banaskantha, Mehsana, Ambaji, and Patan. He said development efforts in Ambaji will give a huge boost to the number of pilgrims. He said that the broad-gauge line from Ahmedabad to Abu Road (Rajasthan) which had been pending since the British period will soon be completed and help create a large number of jobs.
Speaking about his village Vadnagar, the Prime Minister said that the recently recovered ancient artifacts dated to about 3,000 years old have been drawing tourists in large numbers. He said that places like Hatkeshwar, Ambaji, Patan and Tarangaji will help North Gujarat become a tourist centre similar to the Statue of Unity.
Lauding the successful organisation of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra in the months of November, December and January, the Prime Minister said that crores of people from Gujarat became associated with the Yatra.
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