Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Chaudhary Birender Singh was cornered by the State Panchayati Raj Ministers on Tuesday over the delay in allocating Central funds. They said the lack of resources had triggered unrest in panchayats nationwide.
Over a dozen Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ministers participated in the meeting. They expressed doubts about the longevity of the Panchayati Raj institutions and predicted the failure of various government policies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission.
Panchayats played a crucial role in building public toilets in villages, H.K. Patil, Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minster said. The sanitation policy instructed each State government to set up a Swachh Bharat Kosh, a corporate body aimed at generating funds through Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility. But because of the delay in the arrival of funds, the panchayats were unable to do this, he told
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“Panchayats are under pressure because they have commissioned works under the scheme,” said Mr. Patil. “We had somehow achieved some momentum. But now because of the carelessness of the government we may have to abandon the programme.”
Raj Kishore Singh, Panchayati Raj Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said his State had not received Central funds so far in the current fiscal. The State, he said, had coughed up Rs.8000 crores from its own coffers to keep the panchayats running.