The Centre is set to roll out the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana this year where the government would adopt 1,000 villages where the population of Scheduled Castes is more than 50 per cent and develop them as model villages. In a statement given in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for social justice and empowerment Mukul Wasnik on Thursday said that the project would be launched on a pilot basis in 44,000 villages, which would expand later. He said that the announcement of the PMAGY was made by the finance minister in the recent Budget. Mr Wasnik said that his ministry is holding consultations with the labour ministry to bring a comprehensive legislation for the welfare of sanitation workers in the country. Replying to a debate on the working of the ministry of social welfare and justice, Mr Mukul Wasnik informed the House that Rs 5,000 crores would be spent on different developmental schemes of Scheduled Castes and added that the scholarships for the students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be increased. He also said that the government is looking into expanding the role of the National Commission for Backward Classes.