Ramesh said Pranab Mukherjee has assured him that the budget can go up to Rs15,000 crore as far as the importance of drinking water and sanitation is concerned.
Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday described as "trend-setter" the Union Budget which proposes an increase of Rs8000 crore in the total allocation for rural development including drinking water supply and sanitation.
Last year, the total allocation for Rural Development which includes drinking water supply, sanitation and the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP) was Rs91000 crore. This year, the proposed allocation for the sector has been increased to Rs99000 crore.
"This is a very very substantial increase," Ramesh said thanking Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the hike.
"It is a very important, trend setting budget from the rural point of view. I wish to thank the Finance Minister for presenting the budget in which he has accepted all the recommendations relating to the Ministry of Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation. It is an important achievement," Ramesh told reporteRshere.
Recognising the importance of Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, the Finance Minister has made an allocation of Rs14,000 crore for it in 2012-2013. Last year, the actual expenditure on drinking water and sanitation was Rs10,000 crore as opposed to an allocation of Rs11000 crore.
Ramesh said Mukherjee has assured him that the budget can go up to Rs15,000 crore as far as the importance of drinking water and sanitation is concerned.
Simlarly, PMGSY, the centre's rural road scheme, has got a boost in the budget with an increase of Rs4000 crore. With this the total allocation for the programme will substantially go up from Rs20000 crore to Rs24000 crore.
"This will help us to accelerate the PMGSY in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Assam, West Bengal," Ramesh said.
The Finance Minister has made important announcements on Women's Self Help Groups helping them to take a huge step forward on issues related to livelihood of rural women, Ramesh said.
For Women's Self Help Groups, Mukherjee has pegged the interest rate at seven per cent and those groups, which repay on time, will have to pay only four per cent.
The Budget also proposes to establish a Bharat Livelihood Foundation in PPP mode to support the civil society organisations in 170 districts in central India - a suggestion made by the Rural Development Ministry, Ramesh said.
The Finance Minister has made provision for a corpus fund of Rs500 crore from the Government for this purpose, he said.
It will draw Rs500 crore from private trusts and state governments to make it a corpus fund of Rs1000 crore.
"This is a very important initiative to involve civil society organisations in Rural Development in Central India's tribal belt," Ramesh said.
The Minister pointed out that the Finance Minister has also increased the widow pension scheme from Rs200 to Rs300 and disability pension scheme again from Rs200 to Rs300 per month.
Ramesh said the only suggestion which he had made but did not find its reflection in the budget was the demand to start the widow pension scheme at the age of 20.
To construct a world class water quality research centre in Kolkata with focus on arsenic, Mukherjee has also allocated Rs50 crore in the budget.
Ramesh said the research centre will be set up "very quickly" in Kolkata.
"I am grateful that the Finance Minister has accepted all the recommendations," he said.
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