Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 3: The state government has demanded that the Union government step up the allocation of under the Centre’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for the current fiscal from Rs 1,178 crore to `Rs 1,800 crore to enhance road connectivity in rural areas.
The demand was made by the rural development department while seeking the release of the remaining amount under the central scheme.
Rural development secretary PK Mohapatra said the state has already utilised `Rs 1,051.50 crore of the fund against the allocation of `1,178 crore by December 2014.
“It is requested to release the balance `Rs 126.50 crore so that payments can be made against pending work bills. Further, it is to bring your notice that the state government is in a position to spend as much as `1,800 crore during 2014-15 under PMGSY. It may, therefore, be considered to augment the fund beyond `Rs 1,178 crore for Orissa,” he said in a letter to Rajesh Bhushan, joint secretary, Union ministry of rural development. The secretary also said that the provisional utilisation certificate and other related documents of the programme fund for 2014-15 was submitted to the ministry December 17, 2014.
