Aurangabad, Jan 29:
In order to provide basic facilities to the citizens in rural areas and also to strengthen the Gram Panchayats (GP), the Central government will provide Rs 156 crore to 868 GPs in the district from the 15th Finance Commission. As the government has decided to provide the second installment only after spending the first installment of the fund, out of the funds received, Rs 72 crore has been spent on development work.
The term of the 15th finance commission is from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025. The commission provides funds to each district every year for strengthening ZPs, Panchayat Samiti and GPs. The commission has allocated 80 per cent funds for GP and 10 per cent for ZPs and Panchayat Samitis respectively. The district will get Rs 156 crore from the 15th finance commission. From the 80 per cent, 60 per cent funds are to be spent on strengthening public water supply schemes, underground water recharge, sanitation, and making villages open defecation free. GPs have the right to spend the remaining funds on repair of crematorium, installation of street lights and paver blocks.
Expenditure of Rs 72 crore so far
The government decided to distribute the second phase of the funds to the GPs only after the ZP has spent 50 per cent of the total funds received from the commission for the year 2021-22. As a result, the GPs have emphasized on immediate completion of works from the funds of the commission. A total of 72 crore have been spent on various works.