Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said that the State government is committed to ensure timely release of funds for gram panchayats for their all-round development by cutting down other expenditure like the salaries of MLAs, if need be.
“There will be no fund constraint for gram panchayats. The government is committed to timely release of funds, if need be by pruning other expenditure like salaries of MLAs,” the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister said the Central government had accepted the interim report of the 15th Finance Commission allocating funds for one year and the State would accordingly get ₹ 1,847 crore on this account.
The State government on its part has provided an equal amount as matching grant and in the process, became the only State to do so. He was replying to the debate on Palle Pragathi which came up as short discussion in the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Tax collection
Asserting that the government was committed to transform villages into self-sustaining institutions, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said the government had taken steps to fill all the vacant posts in the Panchayat Raj department at different levels and the post of Additional Collector (Local Bodies) had been created exclusively to focus on their affairs. There was need to ensure 100% tax collection from the local bodies for their sustenance. “Total tax collection is a must or else, the respective sarpanch and the village secretary will stand to lose their jobs,” he said.
He said the government was committed to ensure that each gram panchayat, including the minor panchayats, would get at least ₹ 5 lakh every year and this was in addition to the income generated by them. “The government is committed to release funds to even minor gram panchayats with less than 500 population and orders to this effect will be release this evening itself,” he said. There were 899 panchayats with 500 or less population in the State and the government’s focus was in these habitations that were in remote and far flung areas.
PDS shops
Accordingly, efforts were underway to set up ration shops in these interior hamlets to ensure supply of essentials to their residents. The Civil Supplies Department had been asked to change the rules so that PDS outlets could be set up in these areas.
Responding to CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s concern that the government’s decision to provide tractors, trolleys and water tankers to each village was proving to be a burden on the income of the small panchayats, he said the purchase would involve one time expenditure to these panchayats, but the government would ensure that they did not suffer on account of this. He also wanted the officials concerned to take steps to ensure that gram panchayats were not made to pay the salaries of staff from their funds.
