SAGY: MoS's data on Delhi villages differs from senior's info

Minister of State for Rural Development Sudarshan Bhagat today said six Delhi villages have been adopted by MPs under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, less than two months after his senior minister, Birender Singh, had made a contradictory statement on the issue.
"The names of rural villages adopted by Members of Parliament in Delhi are Bhatti, Jharoda Kalan, Ibrahimpur, Jaunti, Chilla Sarodha and Sabha Pur (Chauhan Patti).
"The details of steps being taken for development in these villages have been (sought) from the government of the National Capital of Delhi and are awaited," Bhagat said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

In his reply, the minister gave the names of 688 villages which have so far been adopted under SAGY.
Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had on June 5 said here that no village in Delhi was adopted under SAGY, raising question marks over the announcement months back about the adoption of villages by at least three BJP MPs.
The MPs had then expressed surprise at the minister's remarks.

"No Delhi MP has adopted any village under the SAGY so far. We do not have any such communication to say that any Delhi MP has adopted any village," Singh had told reporters at a press conference here after a review meeting of the scheme.

Singh had stated the above while replying to a question as to whether it was true that no village was adopted under the scheme in Delhi because MPs were finding it difficult to find rural villages in their constituency.
Under the scheme only rural villages can be adopted and not the urban ones.
One of the ruling party MPs -- Ramesh Bidhuri, who had adopted Bhatti Mines village under the scheme in October last year -- had expressed surprise at Singh's remarks, saying he had indeed adopted the village and work was already going on there.