The budget estimates of the Wayanad district panchayat for the 2015-16 fiscal has given priority to the housing and social welfare sectors.
The budget, presented by T. Ushakumari, vice-president of the panchayat, on Saturday, shows revenue of Rs.123.24 crore, expenses of Rs.98.64 crore and a surplus of Rs. 24.6 crore.
Addressing media persons here after the budget presentation, the District Panchayat president N.K. Rasheed said that a special provision had been made for constructing houses for homeless in the district.
A sum of Rs.11.3 crore has been earmarked as the panchayat share to construct the houses under the ‘Indira Avas Yojana’ housing project and a sum of Rs.1.22 crore will be allocated to repay the mandatory provision of the panchayat to the EMS housing project . It was expecting that as many as 2,500 houses could be constructed under the project during the new fiscal, Mr. Rasheed said. The budget has allocated Rs.5.71 crore for executing various social welfare projects for all sections of people including the ‘Ayurjyothi,’ a comprehensive project for senior citizen at a cost of Rs.43 lakh, a project to provide scholarships to the differently abled people worth Rs. 25 lakh and ‘Athijeevanam’, a project for widows to be self-reliant at an expenditure of Rs. 25 lakh.
The budget also envisages setting up model anganwadis in the district at a cost of Rs.72 lakh, he said. A sum of Rs.15 lakh would be allocated for purchasing two ambulances for the district hospital.
It provides Rs.2.43 crore for various educational promotion projects including a Rs.1 crore project to provide free breakfast to attract tribal children to schools.
