MARCH

Point
Out
What is Bharat Nirman
B
harat Nirman is a business plan for
rural infrastructure implemented by
the Government of India in order to
provide basic amenities to the rural India.
The plan was launched by Prime Minister
Dr Manmohan Singh in 2005. Bharat
Nirman is a time-bound business plan
for action in rural infrastructure. Under
Bharat Nirman, action is proposed in the
areas of irrigation, rural housing, rural
water supply, rural electrification and
rural telecommunication connectivity.
COVER STORY GENERAL ELECTION
Plan objectives
»»
Providing safe drinking water to all
under developed areas in India by
2012.
»»
Aims to develop housing facilities for
poor. Initially the scheme targeted
60 lakh additional houses to be constructed
for poor within 2009, but
now the plan has been extended to
2014 and the targeted house to be
constructed has been increased to
1.2 crore.
»»
Plan also includes to cover 40% of
the rural area with telecommunication
facilities by 2014 and provide
broadband coverage to all 2.5 lakh
panchayats by the year 2012.
»»
It also suggests to construct all
weather roads by 2012 in order to
connect all villages of India having a
minimum population of 1,000 ( 500 in
case of hilly or tribal areas).
»»
Aims to provide electricity to every
village by the 2012.
»»
The plan aims to provide an additional
one crore hectare of irrigational
land by 2012.
PERFORMANCE
T
he claims of the second phase
of the Bharat Nirman campaign
that glorifies past achievements
of the UPA Government in sectors
like education, health, telecom and
infrastructure - have been punctured
by the CAG financial audit report of the
Union Government Accounts (2011-
12) and the Parliamentary Standing
Committee report on Implementation of
MGNREGA, 2005.
The CAG report, tabled in Parliament
on August 13,, 2013, presents a sordid
picture of the spending on flagship
schemes by the UPA. A similar picture
on NREGA spending is demonstrated
by the Standing Committee report,
which was presented to the Lok Sabha
on 14 August, 2013.
CAG report on financial audit
The CAG Report No.1 of 2013 - Union
Government (Financial Audit) finds
that the total expenditure on the UPA’s
seven flagship schemes increased
from Rs.93,143 crore in 2009-10 to
Rs.1,18,649 crore in 2010-11, but then
decreased to Rs.1,09,379 crore in
2011-12. These schemes are the Sarva
Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Mid Day
Meal Scheme (MDMS), the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),
the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran
Yojana (RGGVY), the Indira Awas
Yojana (IAY), the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and finally, the
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
Compared with the budgetary
allocation of Rs.126,312 crore for these
seven flagship schemes in 2011-12,
the actual spend during the same
year therefore turns out to be 13%
less. Among these, major schemes
like MGNREGS, RGGVY, IAY and
PMGSY have witnessed a decline in
expenditure when compared to the
previous year and also in comparison
to the Budget estimates. For example,
the actual spending on MGNREGS
was Rs.29,213 crore in 2011-12 as
compared to Rs.35,841 crore in 2010-
11. In 2011-12, Rs.40,000 crore was
allocated under the Union Budget for
MGNREGS but actual spending on the
same was almost 27 per cent less i.e.
Rs.29,213 crore. A similar trend could
be noticed in the case of RGGVY, IAY
and PMGSY.
Advertisement blitz
Congress party has virtually launched
a media blitz in every language spoken
in India. The Rs 100 crore campaign
hardly could hoodwink Indians fed up
with corruption and indecisiveness
of Government of India.. Soon after
Election Commission declared the
schedule for Lok Sabha elections, the
party pulled out its campaign.
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MARCH 2014