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| Tuesday, 23 November 2004 |
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| Rs.2750 million for Jana Pubuduwa, Gam Pubuduwa by Uditha Kumarasinghe The Government has allocated Rs.2750 million to implement the Jana Pubuduwa and Gam Pubuduwa programs next year under the new development drive titled Suwahas Jana Pubuduwa launched recently by the Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Ministry to uplift the socio-economic conditions of low income groups. These two programs are an integral part of the Sanwardhana Sangramaya initiated by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Under the Jana Pubuduwa programme, 100,000 Samurdhi beneficiary families and other low income families will be economically empowered during 2005 by introducing self employment ventures in agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sales, industries and other services to augment their income levels, Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the Daily News. Each self employment will generate nearly three jobs. Therefore nearly 300,000 employment opportunities are expected to be generated through this Jana Pubuduwa program. The Government has allocated Rs.1250 million to implement Jana Pubuduwa next year, the Minister said. In addition to this, Samurdhi Banks will release Rs.2500 million for the Jana Pubuduwa programme next year. Nearly Rs.50,000 will be invested in each self employment project commenced under Jana Pubuduwa. Twenty five per cent of this total amount of money will be provided by the Government while 50 per cent will be granted by Samurdhi banks as subsidised loans. Samurdhi beneficiary families should also make a 25 per cent contribution, she said. Under the "Gam Pubuduwa" programme, 50,000 rural development projects will be implemented next year in selected villages with the assistance of the services and skills of villagers. The community in each village chosen for this development can decide on the particular project to be developed in their village. The Minister said the Government has reserved Rs.1500 million to implement Gam Pubuduwa project next year. The Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority will grant a sum of Rs.30,000 per each project. However, these projects will be worth nearly three times the investment due to the commitment of Samurdhi beneficiaries towards these projects. Out of the recommended rural development projects, drinking water and community water schemes, rural roadways, culverts, small bridges, waterways and environmental conservation will be given priority. The Ministry will seek the active participation of Samurdhi Societies to successfully launch the rural development activities in a large number of rural villages, she said. The Minister said as its prime objective, the Ministry has decided to implement Suwahas Jana Pubuduwa national project under these two pronged projects, Jana Pubuduwa and Gam Pubuduwa to change the misconceptions created among public particularly among Samurdhi beneficiary families that the Samurdhi movement is merely a programme to dole out subsidies to the poor. This dependant mentality has become one of the main constraints for the development of both Samurdhi families and the Samurdhi movement. "Through Suwahas Jana Pubuduwa, the Ministry intends to create awareness among low income families that the Samurdhi movement is the key poverty alleviation catalyst implemented by the Government to improve their socio-economic levels," the Minister said. |
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