Patna: Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan on Wednesday said the Centre would release funds for the construction of rural roads in Bihar as soon as the state government sends its proposal after carrying out survey in this regard.

The survey for construction of 45,000 km of rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) worth Rs 76000 crore is currently underway in phase four, Paswan said while stating that PMGSY is a continuous process which has been carried out in phases such as phase 1,2,34.

“The sooner a state sends its survey report, the sooner the Centre will release funds. Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory, is the first one to send its survey report and we have released the funds. I would ask the officials of Bihar government to send its survey (report) at the earliest. We will release the funds as and when they send their survey,” Paswan said while talking to reporters here.

Paswan held a meeting with state’s rural development minister Shrawan Kumar and rural works minister Ashok Choudhary, state’s rural development department’s Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh and other senior state government officials here.

The two ministers and the officials gave a host of suggestions besides certain demands for MGNREGA, PMGSY and roads, and “we will seriously consider their demands and try to fulfill as soon as the possible,” Paswan said.

Stating that central government has carried out a plenty of schemes and projects in the past 11 years under the leadership of Narendra Modi to realise the dreams of ‘Viksit Bharat”, the union minister said the Narendra Modi government has done unprecedented work in past 11 years be it road connectivity, air connectivity, hospitals etc. Dozens of Vande Bharat trains are being run across the country, he added.

Prime Minister has visited Bihar more than 51 times (in past 11 years), he said while asserting that Bihar’s future is bright.

Talking to reporters later, state’s rural development minister Shrawan Kumar said that he raised the issue of outstanding dues of Rs 200 crore on account of MGNREGA and urged the Centre to release the amount that is due to the state at the earliest.

Kumar also requested the union minister to clear the allotment of remaining number of houses to be built under PM Awas Yojana for people belonging to Extremely Backward Class, SC and ST community.

The number of homeless families is 94 lakh in Bihar, he said adding that the number is likely to increase further with the Centre relaxing the criteria for availing the house under PMAY.

The state government is constructing 6800 playgrounds across the state from MGNREGA, the minister said and added that Centre has also been requested to release the funds for it.