Modi wants monitoring of loans given to self-help groups

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) Monitoring the progress of various rural development schemes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed officials to also monitor loans extended to rural self-help groups (SHGs) through the Aadhaar scheme.

Three crore households have so far been linked to SHGs under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana that targets poverty alleviation through sustainable livelihood, NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog officials told the prime minister.

“He asked for due monitoring of the loans given to SHGs, using Aadhaar. He emphasised that loans must reach the intended beneficiaries, for this scheme to be successful,” an official said.

The NITI Aayog officials on Monday gave a presentation to the prime minister on the progress of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Official figures indicate that an average of 91 km of rural roads have been built daily in the financial year 2015-16, resulting in addition of 30,500 km to rural road length. As a result, 6,500 habitations were connected.

“The prime minister was told about the use of innovative best practices in the PMGSY, including the use of geographic information system and space imagery for planning and monitoring, as well as citizen grievance redressal through app 'Meri Sadak',” the official said.

“The prime minister has directed for stringent quality monitoring of the roads built under the scheme. He said quality checks should be made at the material procurement, construction and maintenance stages,” he added.