'AGEY to provide affordable rural transport services'

The Centre is implementing a scheme -- Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY) -- to provide safe, affordable rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities, Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday.

Tomar said in Lok Sabha that the Rural Development Ministry is implementing the AGEY, the sub-scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), to facilitate transport facilities in rural areas and also provide job opportunities to members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under DAY-NRLM.

The Minister said the scheme has the objective to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities, including access to markets, education and health for the overall economic development of the area.

It also aims to provide an alternative source of livelihood to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their families under DAY-NRLM by facilitating them to operate public transport services in backward rural areas, as identified by the states.

The scheme has been approved for all 34 states and union territories, Tomar said.