Illustrative image (Photo: Lao Cai Television) Lao Cai (VNA)– Over 209,000 households in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai havebenefited from Programme 135, a government programme for the most vulnerable communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, in the 2011-2020period, which had total budget of 1.63 trillion VND (69.8 million USD).
The programme hashelped improve and maintain infrastructure facilities, support local residents’production, and enhance capacity for grassroots staff, thus contributing topromoting socio-economic development in the locality, especially in disadvantagedareas.
Nong Duc Ngoc, head ofthe provincial Committee for Ethnic Affairs, said the highlight in theimplementation of ethnic policies through Programme 135 in Lao Cai is the effectiveuse of investment capital to create livelihoods for locals, especiallyproviding them with capital, land, materials, and tools for productiondevelopment.
Accordingly, the poverty rate among households in Lao Cai decreased by between 5– 6 percent a year, to 11.46 percent in 2019 from 35.28 percent in 2011. Per capita income in 2019 reached 70.6million VND (around 3,025 USD), and it is estimated at 77 million VND in 2020.
The locality aims to have 62.7 percent of schools meeting national standards, 100 percent of communes connected to the national grid and 95percent of rural households accessing clean water in 2020.
In 2019, Lao Cai had 11 communes and 95 villages completing the Programme 135.It hopes to have 25 more communes meeting all criteria of the programme in2020.
Launched in 1999, the Government’s Programme135 aims to boost socio-economic development in particularly disadvantagedcommunes in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas.
In 2017-2020 period, the programme covers 2,139 extremelydisadvantaged and border communes in 46 provinces nationwide.-VNA
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