PM Sets Stone for Projects Worth Rs 7k Cr in Jharkhand

New Delhi/Khunti: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the "Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra" and the Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM PVTG) development mission. In Jharkhand, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects worth Rs 7,200 crores in multiple sectors like rail, road, education, coal, petroleum and natural gas. He also released the 15th installment of the PM-KISAN scheme.

Addressing the programme marking the celebrations of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in Khunti, Jharkhand, after launching a series of schemes, the Prime Minister said, “Tribals had contributed significantly for the country but did not get due recognition.”

Earlier, the Prime Minister visited Ulihatu Village, the birthplace of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, as well as the Birsa Munda Memorial Park and Freedom Fighter Museum in Ranchi.

Paying tribute to the contributions of the tribals, the Prime Minister said that the country will always remain indebted to tribal warriors.

In his address, Mr Modi highlighted the government’s momentous achievement in uplifting more than 13-crore people out of poverty. “Our seva kaal began when our government came to power in 2014,” he said, pointing out that a large population of the country was deprived of basic amenities.

Mr Modi noted that the poor had lost all hope due to the careless approach of the then governments. “The present government began work with a spirit of service,” he remarked as he highlighted that the poor and the deprived became the top priority of the government by delivering the amenities to their doorstep.

The Prime Minister said that 70 per cent of the population has been covered under the Jal Jeevan Mission, 100 per cent have been immunised and there has been full LPG coverage since 2014.

“Modi has made the deprived his priority,” he remarked.

The Prime Minister further noted that true secularism comes only when all possibilities of discrimination against any citizen of the country are eliminated.

He mentioned that social justice is ensured only when the benefit of all government schemes reaches everyone in the same measure. “This is the spirit behind the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Starting today on the Jayanti of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, the yatra will continue till January 26 next year. In this journey, the government will go to every village of the country in mission mode and will make every poor and deprived person a beneficiary of government schemes,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

Launching the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a nationwide programme aimed at reaching out to citizens who are eligible for various Central schemes but have not benefited so far, Mr Modi flagged off five specially designed IEC (information, education and communication) vans from Khunti. Similar vans were flagged off from other districts across the country with significant tribal populations. The campaign to reach out to beneficiaries of the Centre's flagship programmes both in rural and urban areas will culminate on January 25, 2024.

The yatra will cover 2.7-lakh gram panchayats and around 15,000 urban locations where ground-level activities will take place using these automated IEC vans.

The Prime Minister credited the overall development of Jharkhand for the reduction in naxalite violence in the state.

Underling that the state will complete 25 years of formation soon, the Prime Minister urged people to work towards the target of saturation of 25 schemes in Jharkhand.

He said that it will give new impetus to the development of the state and boost ease of living. "The government is committed to expanding education and providing opportunities to the youth,” Mr Modi said as he highlighted the modern national education policy, which enables students to study medicine and engineering in their mother tongue.