Amreli (Gujarat), Aug 15 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday announced a series of welfare and infrastructure measures to mark the 80th Independence Day celebrations, including free residential plots for eligible rural families, a Rs 3,428 crore road development programme, enhanced nutrition support for Anganwadi children, and broader access to overseas education loans.
Under the existing scheme, eligible families in rural areas are provided residential plots free of cost for the construction of houses.
Patel said that where Gram Panchayats do not have sufficient land within village settlement areas, government wasteland or Gauchar land to meet the requirement, the state government will now also purchase private land and allot plots free of cost to eligible families.
“The decision is aimed at addressing the increasing demand for housing as the number of families and households grows and supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Housing for All’,” he said.
The Chief Minister also announced an allocation of Rs 3,428 crore for the renovation and improvement of 2,010 km of 214 roads under the Roads and Buildings Department across Gujarat.
Long state highways and district main roads carrying heavy traffic will be taken up under Output and Performance Road Contracts and Performance-Based Maintenance Contract systems.
“The maintenance liability of contractors constructing roads, currently four years, will also be extended to eight to 10 years for such roads,” he said.
Another measure concerns supplementary nutrition for more than 16.17 lakh children aged three to six years attending Anganwadis. These children receive hot breakfast for 300 days a year.
The daily procurement rate for grains, pulses, spices and vegetables from local markets has been raised by 67 per cent, from Rs 5.10 to Rs 8.50 per child. The state will allocate an additional Rs 169 crore for the measure.
The government also raised the annual family income ceiling for youth from unreserved categories seeking overseas higher education loans through the Gujarat Unreserved Educational and Economic Development Corporation from Rs six lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
The measure is intended to allow more eligible students from financially constrained families to access loans for higher studies abroad and pursue their educational plans.
–IANS
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