Nearly 33,000 villages have been deserted in recent years due to various reasons including lack of employment and facilities, as well as the consecutive drought, said Seyed Abolfazl Razavi, deputy first vice-president for rural development and deprived areas.
Among the 64,000 villages in the country, 39,000 have a population of less than 20 households, IRNA quoted him as saying.
“We are planning to check the problem by developing an ‘economic partnership program’ and increasing the budget for rural affairs by 100% in the current year (started March 21),” he added.
