Link MNREGA with agricultural development: Speaker
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday said there was a need to effectively link the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) with agriculture development and climate change in the country.
Delivering the "Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture, 2011"
on "Rural Development" here, the Speaker also called for a
need to bring in another green revolution in view of the
shortage of food in the country and their rising prices.
"MNREGA, which has helped ensure employment guarantee and
other things so far, will also help create productive
infrastructure, protect environment, empower rural women and
reduce migration from villages to cities, besides helping in
bringing social equity," said Kumar.
She said "the agriculture sector is in a crisis. Due to
the growing population, the demand for food products is fast
growing and the availability is increasingly reduced.
Resultantly, the prices of food products is fast increasing.
"The effect of the green revolution was diminishing and
the need for a second green revolution was being felt like
never before", the Speaker said.
She said the schemes launched for ensuring speedy growth
and development in the country would give the desired results
only if every person of rural India is made a partner in them.
"All such schemes have no meaning till they are
implemented effectively," she said, adding that despite
initiation of several schemes for steering the nation's growth
after independence, some have not given the desired results.
PTI