~651 cr grant released, but PRIs feel powerless, appeal to govt to lift restrictions on spending
Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Hisar, August 6
Even as the State Finance Commission (SFC) has released a grant of Rs 651 crore for the state Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), sarpanches and zila parishad members have alleged they are unable to utilise the funds due to curbs on spending imposed by the state government.
Panchayats can spend on works up to ~5 lakh
- Gram panchayats to get ~488.88 crore, panchayat samitis ~97.77 crore and zila parishads ~65.18 crore
- Sarpanches and members of other bodies allege they don’t
have enough powers to utilise the grants
- Gram panchayats, for instance, can spend only on works up to ~5 lakh; they want limit to be raised to ~21 lakh
- Govt officials claim the CM has already hiked the limit and the issue stands resolved
The SFC has issued installments for the first and second quarters for 2024-25 to all PRIs, including panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads. As per the SFC, 6,226 gram panchayats will get a total of Rs 488.88 crore, panchayat samitis Rs 97.77 crore and zila parishads Rs 65.18 crore. The rural bodies are empowered to utilise these grants as per the PRI Act.
However, sarpanches and members of panchayat samitis and zila parishads have expressed resentment over not having enough powers to utilise the development grants.
Ranbir Singh Samain, president, Haryana Sarpanches Association, said the government had not fully implemented the provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, which had hampered development works. He alleged though Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had announced a hike in the spending limit of gram panchayats from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 21 lakh, but the issue remained unresolved. “There are many works which the panchayats want to undertake. But the division of works as per the work table has tied their hands. We have been demanding amendments to the work table, but the government is not paying any heed,” he said, adding their struggle would continue till the Panchayati Raj Act was implemented in letter and spirit.
Jaskaran Singh, sarpanch of Shekhukhera village in Sirsa district, said even the previous grants had remained unspent due to restrictions imposed by the government. Karamkesh Kundu, a zila parishad member from Hisar, said it seemed the government was aiming to garner votes over SFC grants to the PRIs. “We have been demanding ease of restrictions like work table and lengthy procedures which are hampering the functioning of the PRIs,” he said.
An official, however, claimed the CM had accepted the demand of the panchayats to increase their power to spend up to Rs 21 lakh without e-tendering. “The issue stands resolved now,” he claimed.
