20 Nalwa villages returned development funds: RTI

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, November 5

An RTI query has brought out that 20 village panchayats in Nalwa Assembly segment returned development funds to the Panchayat Department in a year. Information procured by former Finance Minister Sampat Singh said 54 panchayats in the segment were allocated Rs 10.18 crore from July 24, 2015, to July 31, 2016. The funds were meant for projects announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Of sanctioned funds, Rs 8.53 crore was returned to the Executive Engineer, Panchayat Department. In all, 20 panchayats returned the money, the RTI revealed.

Chirod village sarpanch Suresh Kumar said he received a grant of Rs 19.3 lakh in the panchayat’s bank account on November 5, 2015. The the amount was transferred to the Panchayat Department on November 24, 2015. “My panchayat did not approve the transfer of money,” he said.

“The financial and administrative powers of panchayats have been clipped. The BJP government has weakened the Panchayati Raj Institutions, though it enforced several conditions on contesting the elections on the pretext of strengthening the PRIs,” Singh told the media here today.

An official of the Panchayat Department said the state government had, on February 2, 2015, decided that the power to carry out development works worth Rs 10 lakh and above vested with the department. “After the panchayat’s approval for a particular project, the department floats tenders. The panchayats have the power to execute works less than Rs 10 lakh,” he added.

Singh, a Congress leader, claimed: “The 54 village panchayats have a collective grant of Rs 21.05 crore, including Rs 10.48 crore allocated during the previous Congress government, in its bank accounts. So far, they (panchayats) have been able to spend only Rs 5.12 crore.”

He said he had managed to get details of just one Assembly segment. “Villages across the state are being forced to return development grants to the department. The panchayat elections are not contested on party lines. So, panchayats should not be forced to toe any political agenda,” Singh added.