FM Sitharaman Assures MP Rajkumar Roat on Banswara Development Projects

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday addressed the concerns raised by Banswara-Dungarpur MP Rajkumar Roat in the Lok Sabha. During the parliamentary proceedings, the Finance Minister clarified that the central government would take the issues raised by the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) MP with utmost seriousness. She noted that the MP had expressed distress in the previous session regarding the alleged neglect of his constituency, a matter the government has now formally acknowledged. According to the Finance Minister, the government remains committed to the development of tribal regions, and the projects mentioned by the MP will be prioritized.

Official Statement by the Finance Minister in Parliament

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that MP Rajkumar Roat had previously expressed with a heavy heart that the central government was ignoring his constituency, Banswara, while she assured the House that every point raised by Rajkumar Roat would be heard seriously and the pending works in his area would be executed. During her address, the Finance Minister presented a detailed report on the progress made in Banswara and Dungarpur districts under various central schemes, emphasizing the government's goal of reaching the last person in the developmental chain.

Expansion of Jal Jeevan Mission in Banswara

Highlighting the development of basic infrastructure, the Finance Minister reported significant achievements under the Jal Jeevan Mission. 47 lakh rural households in the Banswara district. Providing a comparative analysis, she stated that this figure is ten times higher than the numbers recorded in 2019. The Finance Minister reiterated that the government aims to provide clean drinking water to every household and ensured that there would be no shortage of budgetary allocation for this purpose.

Progress in Housing and Sanitation Schemes

19 lakh houses have been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the region. 4% has been achieved under this scheme. Also, more than three lakh individual household toilets have been constructed under the sanitation drive, along with 847 community sanitary complexes. The Finance Minister asserted that these statistics demonstrate the central government's continuous efforts toward the development of tribal-dominated areas.

Discrepancies Highlighted by MP Rajkumar Roat

Earlier, during the parliamentary discussion, MP Rajkumar Roat had prominently raised the issues of regional problems and the lack of basic amenities. He questioned the gap between government claims and the ground reality. Roat argued that contrary to paper claims, the situation in many villages remains concerning. He alleged that while tap connections have been installed in hundreds of villages, water supply has not yet commenced. In many locations, pipelines have been laid and left incomplete, forcing villagers to travel 1 to 2 kilometers to fetch water.

Administrative Accountability and Future Roadmap

MP Rajkumar Roat also stated in the House that officials are receiving awards in the name of the Jal Jeevan Mission while the work remains incomplete on the ground, while he demanded that merely creating infrastructure isn't enough; the continuity of services must be ensured. After hearing these concerns, the Finance Minister assured that these discrepancies would be investigated to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach the actual beneficiaries. The government indicated that the special monitoring mechanism for tribal areas would be further strengthened.