07/06/2012
Delhi lessens 79 percent of PMEGP targets for Tripura, state retorts
Agartala : By Our Correspondent
The state government has tried to fan the anti-Delhi discontent among youths of the state by writing to the union Rural Development (RD) Minister Virbhadra Singh on allocation of targets under the Prime Ministers’ Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). While the state was allocated 1,000 targets under PMEGP in 2010-2011, formerly known as Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), Tripura had 1,500 targets in the following financial year. Raising a strong note of controversy, Delhi has allocated barely 316 targets to Tripura in the current financial year. RD Minister of Tripura - Jitendra Chaudhury has written to the Union Minister asking requesting intervention form his end to ensure allocation of 1,500 targets for Tripura for 2012-2013 and to allocate required Margin Money of Rs. 22.50 crores for the purpose.
“We had requested the KVIC and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to fix our PMEGP targets for 2012-2013 at 1,500 cases – the same level as the previous year. However, we are surprised to receive a communication from KVIC stating that our target for the current financial year has been pegged at a meager 316 cases with a Margin Money of Rs. 7.26 crores. The actual disbursement during 2011-2012 was 1,545 cases and the allocation this year appears to be grossly inadequate. We would request your kind intervention to impress upon KVIC to allocate a target of 1,500 cases for Tripura for 2012-2013 and allocate the required Margin Money of Rs. 22.50 crores”, stated Chaudhury in his letter. “We are surprised to see that a number of Northeastern states, much smaller that Tripura in size, have been allocated much higher targets under the scheme”, added he. The fun is that Tripura had failed to provide adjustment of disbursement of PMEGP for the last financial year and the fallout has come as disastrous.