Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 10: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday asked the sarpanchs of all 6,209 panchayats in the state to make proper utilisation of the grants coming under the 14th Finance Commission.
In a letter he wrote to the sarpanchs, Patnaik said every village can be developed as an ideal village by utilising the funds properly. The funds would give a boost to the socio-economic development of people living in rural areas, he said.
With the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission, Panchayati Raj institutions in the state will receive over `16,000 crore in the next five years, sources said.
“Proper utilization of the funds only can bring qualitative improvement in the lives of the rural people. To ensure timely utilisation of the funds, there is need to launch a ‘Gram Bikash Yojna’,” Patnaik said in the letter.
He said the panchayats can find ample opportunities to use the funds for generation of labour employment and creation of permanent resources under MGNREGA, but a systematic use of funds must be in place to achieve these goals.
If useful and well-thought schemes are implemented, the problems of villagers would be gradually resolved and resources like water supply, sanitation, health, roads, plantation and installation of streetlights can be created, Patnaik added.
As per the recommendation of the commission, the panchayats would get funds from the current financial year as per their population. Besides, there is a provision to provide `10 lakh to each panchayats for infrastructure development.