Staff Reporter
KALPETTA
Rahul Gandhi, MP, has urged the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to include the Panamaram block panchayat in the district in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), a scheme designed to address the development deficits of identified minority concentration areas.
The authorities of the Panamaram block panchayat had sought the intervention of Mr. Gandhi after the civic body was excluded from the scheme. There are five block panchayats in the district and the socio-economic feature of the civic body was similar to the others, the authorities said. The status of the civic body fulfilled the entire mandate prescribed by the Ministry. The number of the minority communities in the civic body was also higher than that in the rest of the civic bodies. Moreover, the panchayat was included in the multi-sectoral development programme of the Central government for minorities during the 2012-2017 period.
Mr. Gandhi said in his letter to Union Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi that the government should consider the inclusion of the civic body under PMJVK for improving the socio-economic conditions of the minorities and reducing imbalances in the identified minority concentration areas.
