Ignorant MPs irk rural minister

The renewed focus on rural areas may have infused the rural development ministry with new vigour, but its minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh does not necessarily appreciate all the attention he has been getting.

The focus on the common man does not guarantee, according to the minister, a fair degree of knowledge about rural development, forcing him to take on an unfamiliar role of tutor.

According to the minister, the emphasis on rural development schemes has created a false impression about the ministry. "Most MPs think we are flush with funds and will sanction money for any and every scheme thought up by the elected representatives," he said.

So fed up Singh is with these demands that he has written to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asking for an "orientation programme" for MPs to make them aware of the programmes and projects under which funds could be made available.

"I have prepared a power point presentation on what we can offer. I will be holding these classes soon," he said. "Less than one per cent of MPs even know the full forms of projects," he said. "Every time I try to explain about various projects, the response is that I should sanction extra funds to them," he added.

To Singh, this depicts not disinterest but genuine ignorance. "Things have to be pointed out to members and frankly I can not explain to each one separately what the SGRY is or what the Indira Awas Yojana is," he said.

Despite a Rs 10,000 crore fund sanctioned by the Planning Commission for the national common minimum programme implementation (of which Rs 2,000 crore is for Singh's ministry), there appears to be a fund crunch in the ministry.

"We are owed Rs 2,350 crore by the finance ministry as our share of the surcharge on fuel," the minister said.

Singh does feel wronged that the panchayati raj department was not included in the rural development ministry and was given to the petroleum ministry.

"The decision to remove panchayati raj department from my ministry is impractical and ridiculous. But I have made my peace with it," he said.