Chandigarh, October 1 - Giving a big gift to the Panchayati Raj institutions of the state, Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Naib Singh Saini today released an amount of Rs 404 crore 79 lakh as the second installment of the State Finance Commission. This amount will be directly transferred to the accounts of 5,719 village panchayats, 144 panchayat samitis and three district councils. This step will also give impetus to the development works of rural areas and strengthen the expansion of public facilities at the local level.
The Chief Minister was addressing a press conference here today. Development and Panchayat Minister Mr. Krishan Lal Panwar, Services Minister Mr. Krishan Kumar Bedi and Cooperation Minister Dr. Arvind Sharma were also present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister said that the present government has given Rs 3700 crore to the Panchayati Raj Institutions for development works in the last four years. Out of this, Rs 3300 crore has been spent directly on the infrastructure and public amenities of the villages.
The Chief Minister clarified that the government's vision is not limited to just allocating money, but to give more rights, more reforms and more responsibilities to the Panchayats in line with the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. He said that now that the elected representatives of the villages get resources and rights, they can take development decisions by understanding the local needs and priorities in a better way.
The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the Panchayats will use this money transparently and will take the plans to the ground level with the participation of the public. He said that the stronger the decision-making capacity at the local level, the more extensive and effective the development results will be.
On this occasion, Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department Dr. Sumit Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department Mr. Apurv Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. Arun Kumar Gupta, Commissioner and Secretary of the Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department Dr. Amit Kumar Agarwal, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. Saket Kumar, Director General of the Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department Mr. K. Makrand Pandurang, Director General of the Development and Panchayat Department Mr. Dushyant Kumar Behera, Deputy Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. Yashpal and other officials were present.