The State Government on Monday requested the Centre to include more districts under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) for development of infrastructure in these areas.
The demand was placed before Union Minister for Panchayatiraj V Kishore Chandra Deo by Panchayatiraj Minister Kalpataru Das during the former’s visit to the State on Monday. Das said that since the policy for sanction of assistance under the BRGF has been changed, it is not necessary to include entire districts as blocks have been recognised as units.
The BRGF is now being implemented in 3,921 gram panchayats and 72 urban local bodies in 217 blocks of 20 districts of the State.
Das also requested the Union Minister to release funds already sanctioned under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Yojana (RGPSY) in one instalment to expedite implementation of different projects. He said it will be difficult to spend the money if it is allocated in a phased manner as there are just three months left in the current financial year.
Out of the `9236.38 lakh sanctioned by the Centre for the State under the RGPSY, only `3436.81 lakh has been released so far.
Besides, Das requested that assistance under BRGF be extended to some other backward districts. The scheme is being implemented in 20 districts of the State. Deo asked Das to submit a formal proposal to the Centre in this regard.