Mangalore, December 30: The Gram Panchayats in the State which are receiving an even annual fund of Rs eight lakh at present, would get more funds with the implementation of the Thirteenth Finance Commission Report.
Having received the report, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department is contemplating to provide grants to the panchayats based on the population level in the each GP, said Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar.
He was addressing the gathering during his visit to Mennabettu Gram Panchayat in Kinnigoli on Thursday. The Minister said that the government has already increased the funds to the GPs from Rs six lakh to Rs eight lakh. With the implementation of the Thirteenth Finance Commission Report, the funds will be granted in three scales based on the population rate. Grant of Rs nine lakh, 12 lakh and 15 lakh will be given to the Gram Panchayats with population of 3000, 5000 and 15000 respectively, he informed.
Calling the Third Finance Commission report by A G Kodgi as the model report, he said the government will ensure that the recommendations of the report are implemented in the Panchayat level. “With the implementation of the finance commission report, the TPs and ZPs which have been receiving Rs one crore annual grant would receive a hiked grant of Rs two crore. The government will make sure that the fund allocation for the TPs and ZPs is increased in the next budget,” he said.
Shettar also said that the Department has sent a circular to all the Panchayats to maintain transparency in the functioning. The Gram Panchayats have been strictly asked to organise Gram Sabhas on timely basis. The Gram Sabhas should be compulsorily video recorded so that the higher authorities in the Department would be able to monitor the happenings in the Panchayats. The selection of beneficiaries for various schemes should be transparent, he said.
Informing about the status of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme in the State, the Minister said that out of Rs 2,000 crore grant sanctioned by the Central government for the implementation of MGNREGS in the state, Rs 1,000 crore has been utilised and the rest of the fund would be utilised within March.
He also said that strict measures will be taken up for the proper tax collection in the Panchayats. “If the tax collection rate is 90 per cent in Dakshina Kannada, on the contrary, the collection is anywhere between 10 and 30 per cent in North Karnataka districts. As per the 13th Finance Commission report, the tax collection in Panchayats should not be below the minimum level of 40 per cent, informed the Minister.
Jagadish Shettar visited the solid waste management unit in Mennabettu Gram Panchayat. ZP President K T Shailaja Bhat, Chief Executive Officer Dr Vijay Prakash, MLA K Abhayachandra Jain and others were present.
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