Wednesday, 23 August 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In latest news from Dehradun, the State panchayati raj and rural development minister Satpal Maharaj said that the State government has taken up an ambitious plan under which they are going to embark on a panchayat yatra. “This yatra will cover every village of the State and during the yatra we will make the people aware of the imperatives of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. Besides, we will ensure that the incomes of the villagers increase and they become self-reliant,” the minister said while talking to the media persons after the stock-taking meeting of the panchayati raj department at its directorate was held.
He further informed that the State has received around Rs 440 crore for empowerment of the panchayats and development of infrastructure facilities for the year 2022-23 from the 15th Finance Commission. He added that under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), approval has been received from the Centre for the construction of 200 panchayat buildings in the year 2022-23 out of which 34 panchayat houses have been constructed and 166 buildings are still under construction. “Apart from this, on receiving approval for the construction of 200 panchayat buildings for 2023-24, all are currently under- construction. We also received approval for the construction of 100 additional rooms for 2022-23. Of these, 14 have been completed and 86 are under construction. Approval has been received for the construction of 100 rooms for 2023-24 and all are under construction,” Maharaj said.
The minister further informed that the officials concerned have been given stern instruction during the review meeting to ensure that the budget allocated by the 15th Finance Commission is fully spent developmentally. “This is a must as it will pave for more funds to come for further empowering the panchayat institutions. While Rudraprayag district has been lagging behind in the matter of spending the funds received things are being delayed in Haridwar district too because of the upcoming panchayat election. However, we have given strict instruction to both these districts to developmentally use the total funds received expeditiously,” he said.
