CM addresses Garib Kalyan Mela through video conference

Garib Kalyan Mela has become instrumental in sensitizing govt machinery to the issues of poor: CM

Addressing the beneficiaries of Garib Kalyan Mela (GKM) through video conference today the Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that GKM has become instrumental in sensitizing the government machinery to the issues of poor. “The GKM campaign has also become instrumental in animating the poor to be free from poverty”, he said.

Speaking about the government schemes for providing houses to the poor the Chief Minister said that today there are lakhs of homeless poor in the country who belong to BPL group. Many of the government schemes in the country for providing houses to the poor have not been successful. “Only in Gujarat the pakka houses have been handed out to all the poor BPL families belonging to 0-16 point”, he said.

In addition, the state government also planned to hand out the benefits of residential schemes to the BPL families belonging to 17-20 points during GKM. The government has issued orders to pay Rs.21,000 as the first installment of housing assistance to about 2.5 lakh homeless poor families. The state government has also given free-of-cost electricity connections to around three lakh slum-dwellers at the expense of Rs.600 crore, he said.

The state government has put enormous efforts to provide clean drinking water to the poor. Ground water levels have been raised through many water conservation campaigns. This has freed the poor from the problem of water scarcity and unclean water. About 73% houses in rural areas have been given tap water connection, he said.

Moreover, the state government has erected 1.25 lakh kilometer pipeline network for internal water distribution including 2200 km. of Narmada pipeline. This has helped 11,000 villages and 120 cities to get Narmada water. The budget for drinking water has been increased from Rs.600 crore to Rs.3,000 crore during last decade, he said.

The Chief Minister also spoke about the state government’s cleanliness initiatives. “Due to the state government’s cleanliness drive the number of Nirmal Villages have increased from four to 4600 in a span of a decade”, he said. This has also helped to save villages and poor from becoming victims of epidemics and diseases, said the Chief Minister.

Mr. Modi also appealed the poor to get rid of addictions and ill customs and to provide education to their children.

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PM chairs 53rd PRAGATI Meeting
August 25, 2026
PM reviews six key infrastructure projects across the Railway, Road and Power sectors
Projects reviewed span across 9 States with cumulative investment of more than ₹30,000 crore
PM says Infrastructure projects should be viewed as an integrated whole, rather than as individual sections or packages
PM calls for continuous reforms across all stages of project implementation and a proactive work culture across Ministries and States
PM says Speed must go hand-in-hand with quality
While reviewing AgriStack, PM emphasises the need to leverage the latest digital technologies including AI to derive greater value from agricultural data
On cyber fraud and ‘digital arrest’, PM stresses training, public awareness, cyber-safety education and coordinated action

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 53rd meeting of PRAGATI, the ICT-enabled, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, at Seva Teerth earlier today.

During the meeting, Prime Minister reviewed six key infrastructure projects across the Railway, Road and Power sectors, spanning nine States with a cumulative cost of more than ₹30,000 crore. The projects, significant for strengthening connectivity, supporting industrial and economic activity and improving public services, were reviewed with particular emphasis on adherence to timelines, inter-agency coordination, resolution of pending issues and expeditious completion.

Prime Minister emphasised that delays in infrastructure projects have consequences beyond cost escalation, as they also postpone the benefits intended for citizens, businesses and the economy. He said that infrastructure projects should be viewed and monitored as an integrated whole, rather than as isolated sections, stretches or packages. He noted that progress in individual packages should ultimately translate into timely completion and operationalisation of the entire project. Ministries and States were therefore asked to adopt an end-to-end approach, and address critical gaps that could delay the overall commissioning and delivery of benefits. He called for fostering a proactive work culture across Ministries and State Governments, with greater ownership at every level of project implementation.

Prime Minister stressed the need to explore common utility corridors for infrastructure services, wherever feasible, particularly while planning major transport and infrastructure projects. He called upon Ministries and States to examine such integrated approaches at the planning stage itself, keeping in view their technical and economic feasibility.

Prime Minister said that speed of execution must be accompanied by uncompromising quality. He called upon Ministries, States and implementing agencies to adopt modern technologies and strengthen quality assurance and supervision at every stage.

While reviewing AgriStack under the Digital Agriculture Mission, Prime Minister emphasised the need to leverage the latest digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, to derive greater value from agricultural data. He stressed that the data ecosystem should be effectively utilised across the agricultural value chain, from input planning to processing, enabling more informed interventions, better targeting and data-driven decision-making. He appreciated the efforts of the States and the Central Government in building the AgriStack ecosystem and called for further strengthening its use for delivering better outcomes for farmers.

During the review of cyber fraud cases, including incidents of digital arrest, Prime Minister said that prevention must be strengthened through a sustained focus on training, awareness and education. He stressed the need for continuous and targeted public-awareness campaigns, particularly for senior citizens, youth and other vulnerable sections, to familiarise them with common fraud techniques, warning signs and safe digital practices. He also called for regular capacity-building of personnel involved so that emerging modes of cyber fraud are identified and acted upon swiftly.