KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Under the 14th Finance Commission grant, Jammu & Kashmir State will be utilizing Rs 3117.36 Crore plus Performance Grant of Rs 346.37 Crore which will be provided during five year period.
“This was disclosed in a meeting between the officers of J&K Government’s Rural Development Department and the Secretary, Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, S M Vijayanand who is on a visit to the State these days,” an official statement said Friday evening.
For the current year, Rs 373 Crore are being released directly to the Panchayat Halqas to be used in convergence with MGNREGA for creating durable assets.
During the meeting, the Union Secretary stressed on the need for preparation of integrated plan utilizing the funds of MGNREGA and own resources of Panchayat.
Vijayanand said the quantum and quality of the Grant-in-Aid awarded by the 14th Finance Commission focuses on basic services. He said 90% of the grant would flow to the States as Basic Grant while 10% as Performance Grant.
He said the immediate task for the Department is preparation of GP level plans so that the resources over which the Gram Panchayats have command could be put to effective use to address local needs and priorities as identified by the people themselves.
Secretary, Rural Development Department, Khurshid Ahmad Shah informed Vijayanand that the Department is already working on the convergence of various schemes for the development of Panchayats.
He assured that the state government would take effective steps to prepare and implement the Development Plan in each gram Panchayat of the State.
