Bathinda’s Balloh panchayat saves 20% govt funds

The Balloh village panchayat here has set a model of transparent and cost-effective development.

Under the leadership of Sarpanch Amarjit Kaur, the panchayat has completed multiple development works in just one year while saving nearly 20 per cent of government funds.

The panchayat has displayed detailed expenditure on boards at public places across the village.

These boards mention the name of the ward panch, executing agency, estimated cost of each project, actual expenditure and the amount saved from government grants, making Balloh one of the first villages to publicly share project-wise accounts.

Panchayat member Harbans Singh and Harvinder Kaur said the panchayat spent around Rs 50 lakh on development works this year and saved over Rs 10 lakh through honest and efficient execution.

“The saved money will now be used for additional development,” they added.

Apart from these savings, the construction of a new “panchayat ghar”, worth Rs 25 lakh, is also on.

Villagers apprised of expenditure

The sarpanch said the panchayat presented detailed fund utilisation report during gram sabha meetings to ensure every villager knew how public money was spent.

Using the 15th Finance Commission grant and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) convergence, the panchayat has undertaken works such as sewerage, drinking water pipelines, interlocking tiles in lanes, construction of a Thapar-model pond, solid-waste management through NADEP pits, construction of an anganwari building and installation of a solar system in the village library.