Jaleswar: With the district administration not being able to spend even four percent of the sanctioned funds received under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM), a big question mark has emerged on the future of projects under the mission in Balasore district.
Sources said the district administration was able to spend only Rs 4 crore though the government has already sanctioned Rs 100 crore. People apprehend that the government’s promise to complete the implementation of the projects under the mission by 2021-22 may not be fulfilled.
The state government had decided to include 14 areas in the state under the Rurban Mission. Preliminary survey with analysis for the implementation of the developmental projects in selected districts under the mission was conducted by the district administration through the Odisha Housing and Urban Development Department. The 14 areas included Raibania in Balasore district.
The decision was taken by the State-level Empowered Committee (SLEC).
SPMRM mission manager Manohar Thakur said, “In Raibania, Rurban mission’s special emphasis has been on tasar clusters, sustainable livelihood, horticulture and agriculture.”
Investment for development of the area was estimated around Rs 100 crore and the state government has already sanctioned the estimated fund.
The mission will cover 11 gram panchayats in the area. In the first phase, the district administration has invested Rs 4 crore for various developmental clusters.
The balance amount of Rs 96 crore will be shared by the Centre and state government as critical gap funding (CGF) and single orientated yojana, added Thakur.
Developmental works like repairing work of schools, completion of under-constructed roads and nutrition gardens in the schools have been undertaken by the district administration.
The schools in the area have been provided with facilities like libraries, computers and gardening courses too. These clusters will be developed as Rurban villages preserving the nature and essence of rural community life with urban facilities.
The market-cum-facilitation organisation with the help of Skill Development Department has been conducting various programmes to make the villagers self-sufficient by teaching them vegetables and tasar farming, plate making, making of products from sabai grass, fishing, cattle baron, handicrafts from bamboo and hen and goat farming.
The district administration has also invested Rs 1.71 lakh on solar lights to reduce the electricity need of the villages coming under the mission. ORMAS and RSETI are providing skill training to the unemployed youths of the villages in order to make them self-sufficient.
Thakur pointed out that in Raibania area, various developmental programmes like rest shades, and drinking water and road projects have been already planned with cost estimation of Rs 1.60 crore. The state government will spend 1.10 crore while the rest amount will be funded under the Rurban Mission.
WHAT IS RURBAN MISSION?
The Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) was launched in 2016. The National Rurban Mission (NRuM) follows the vision of— “development of a cluster of villages that preserve and nurture the essence of rural community life with focus on equity and inclusiveness without compromising with the facilities perceived to be essentially urban in nature, thus creating a cluster of ‘Rurban Villages’”. The objective of the NRuM is to stimulate locals by providing economic infrastructure, skill development, establishment of agro-processing units, inter-village connectivity, piped water supply, irrigation, solid waste management, digital connectivity, street lights, sanitation, sustainable livelihood, health services, citizen service centre and LPG connections among several others