Cabinet sanctioned two projects to improve infra in tribal districts

Focusing on the development of tribal areas, the Cabinet has sanctioned two major projects to improve infrastructure across 44 aspirational districts with tribal populations. Minister of Information and Broadcasting of India, Anurag Thakur, said that the government has directed to complete the pending work under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana Phase I, II and III in tribal districts and rural areas, focusing on those suffering from left-wing extremism. According to NITI Aayog, the districts that are affected by the poorest socio-economic indicators are the aspirational districts. The road length is 1,40,41 km with 2,626 bridges, which are set to be constructed under the latest project. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 33,822 crore. The government will provide Rs 22,978 crore. The project completion time is scheduled for 2024-25. The government will also install 4G-enabled mobile phone towers in 44 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha to boost telecom connectivity across these states. It will be spread across 7,263 villages with an estimated cost of Rs 6,468 crore, including capital expenditure and operational costs. The deadline to complete this project is 2022. The Cabinet had announced that the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas to mark 15 November as the day in memory of brave tribal freedom fighters so that the young generation could get to know about them and their sacrifices. It is the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, revered as Bhagwan by the tribal communities in India. Image Source