New Delhi: The Centre has selected 47,328 villages across the country under the Adarsh Gram Component of the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), with 435 villages in Telangana, as part of its effort to improve the socio-economic conditions of Scheduled Caste communities through integrated village development.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale informed the House that the scheme seeks to bridge critical development gaps by converging Central and State government programmes. The selected villages are assessed against 50 socio-economic indicators spread across 10 sectors, including education, with progress monitored through the PMAGY portal.
The minister said a need assessment survey is conducted to establish baseline conditions in each selected village. Development gaps identified through the survey are addressed either by converging existing welfare schemes or through interventions funded under PM-AJAY.
According to the government, 3,28,131 development works and 1,10,51,213 beneficiaries have been identified under the scheme across the country. So far, 46,642 development works have been completed, benefiting 47,59,399 people.
For Telangana, the government said 3,529 beneficiaries have been identified under the education sector, of whom 472 have already received benefits under the scheme.
Responding to a question on third-party audits, the Centre said States and Union Territories have been directed to verify the self-declaration of Adarsh Gram under the PM-AJAY Adarsh Gram Component.
