KAKKANAD :The Ernakulam district may lose its number one position in the ‘projects approved’ category of the State Planning Commission as the district panchayat is yet to submit the annual project plan to the District Planning Committee (DPC).
The Ernakulam district has been in the number one position in the ‘project approved’ category. However, with matters moving at a snail’s pace at the district panchayat, the Malappuram and Kannur districts are set to outpace Ernakulam and share the top position.
“In the recent weeks, we were leading, but the failure of the district panchayat to submit the annual project report to the DPC on Thursday has shaken our position,” said District Planning Officer R Girija.
The Ernakulam district was in the third position in the 2012-2013 financial year, when the Alappuzha and Wayanad districts were in the first and second positions, respectively.
“Compared to the previous year, we are a little bit ahead in project approvals. It is also a great achievement that we could approve the project reports of these 11 municipalities, one corporation, 84 panchayats and 14 block panchayats in a short span of time. When compared to the performance of the other districts, it is a great achievement,” Girija added.
“We have given a final date to the district panchayat to submit the project report and they have agreed to do so,” Girija said.
Meanwhile, the district panchayat has accused the government for the delay in submitting the project report.
“Our project report was completed on March 31, and we were ready to submit it. But, the system got changed when the government asked to allot `8 crore to the MGNREGS project for road maintenance, on condition of returning it to the panchayat. But, that got delayed for many months,” said district panchayat vice-president Bindu George.