<span style="color: #222222;">Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said, the vision of achieving 5 trillion dollar economy and taking the nation to the path of development will be impossible if the progress of villages is not given due consideration.<br />'' <br />'' He said, removal of imbalance between the lifestyle of villages and cities is need of the hour.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Tomar was speaking at  National Awards Distribution Function in New Delhi today.<br />'' <br />'' He stressed on the need to provide all the basic facilities equipped with modern technology to every village. He said, steps should be taken to increase the agri-productivity which can cater to the need of the entire nation.<br />'' <br />'' The Minister said, all these combined efforts can empower villages and reduce the practice of mass migration of villagers to cities.<br />'' <br />'' Talking about the MNREGA and other welfare schemes, Mr Tomar said, the budget of MNREGA in 2014 was 38 thousand crore but the government has increased it to 60 thousand crore in the last five years.<br />'' <br />'' He said, under the third phase of PM Gram Sadak Yojna, the government has set a target of completing 1 lakh 25 thousand Kilometers by 2024-25 with a budget of nearly 80250 crore. He said, the government is very much committed to its completion.<br />'' <br />'' Around 266 awards were given to individuals, institutions, Panchayats, blocks for their exemplary contribution in the rural development.<br />'' <br />''<br />''Tamil Nadu bagged the Golden award for running a maximum number of developmental programmes at the village level. </span><br />