The Budget estimates of the Wayanad district panchayat for the 2023-24 fiscal have given priority to agriculture, health care and education sectors in the district.
The Budget, presented by S. Bindu, vice-president of the panchayat, on Thursday shows a revenue of ₹66.88 crore, expenses of ₹66.53 crore and a surplus of ₹35.07 lakh.
Addressing media persons here after the Budget presentation, District panchayat president Samshad Marakkar said that various comprehensive projects had been included in the Budget for the overall development of agriculture, health care and education sectors of the district.
A sum of ₹15 crore has been earmarked for a comprehensive educational project titled ‘Samagra’. The project aims to improve infrastructure facilities and ensure quality education for students. It would adopt various projects such as Gothra Saradhi, a project to bring children from tribal hamlets to the nearest school by providing free transport in order to address the issue of school dropouts; Thelineer, a project to ensure purified drinking water facility to all students; Shubha Yatra, another project that envisages to provide electric wheelchairs to physically challenged children; and other projects including conducting coaching camps; providing breakfast to all students; renovation of school laboratories; setting up of mathematics, science and social clubs and disbursing menstrual cups to higher secondary school female students at free of cost.
The Budget has allocated ₹7.6 crore for the comprehensive development of the health sector. This includes ₹2.5 crore for women’s health care projects; ₹50 lakh for neonatal and physically challenged children; ₹30 lakh for the health care of tribal women during pregnancy and ₹20 lakh for sickle cell anaemia treatment among children.
A sum of ₹3.5 crore was allocated for ‘Nenmani’, a project to be executed with the support of block and grama panchayats, aimed at conserving paddy fields in the district and ensuring sustainable paddy cultivation.
A sum of ₹3.6 crore was earmarked for agriculture and allied sectors, ₹4.5 crore for road construction works, and ₹2 crore for drinking water projects. A sum of ₹1 crore was earmarked for mitigating man-animal conflict in the district.
