Jaipur: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said the Centre would take seriously the concerns raised by Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat while highlighting the implementation of several central welfare schemes in the tribal-dominated region.Replying during discussion on the supplementary Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman referred to Roat’s remarks made a day earlier in which he expressed concern that the Banswara Parliamentary constituency was being neglected by the Centre. “Yesterday, Roat spoke with concern and said that his constituency Banswara is being ignored by the Centre. I want to tell the MP from the Bharat Adivasi Party that whatever issues you raise will be heard seriously, and the necessary work will be carried out,” Sitharaman said in the House. Highlighting the implementation of welfare schemes, she said the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) significantly expanded tap water connections in the region. “Under JJM, around 1.47 lakh rural households in the district received tap water connections, which is nearly 10 times higher than the number recorded in 2019.” Sitharaman said that under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, about 2.19 lakh houses were provided in the region, achieving 95.4 per cent coverage. “More than 3 lakh household toilets were constructed and 847 sanitary complexes built as part of sanitation initiatives,” she added. However, residents and local activists claim the situation on the ground differs from the figures cited in Parliament. According to them, in several villages across Banswara and Dungarpur districts, pipelines were laid under the JJM but water supply is yet to begin. Villagers say that despite official claims of extensive coverage, many people still walk several kilometre to fetch drinking water. “Pipelines were laid in many villages, but water has not started coming yet. In some places, roads were dug up for pipeline work and were not repaired,” a resident said.
