An amount of Rs. 375 crore has been released under 13th Finance Commission for the construction, repair and renovation of the Panchayats Ghars in the State for augmenting the infrastructural capacities of the Panchayati Raj system.The information was shared in a high level meeting convened by the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Ali Mohammad Sagar, here, today.Secretary Rural Development Shiekh Mushtaq Ahmad, Directors Rural Development, Jammu/Kashmir Shafiq Ahmad Raina, Mir Altaf Ahmad, Additional Secretary Rural Development Nisar Ahmad Wani, Member Secretary MGNREGA Pawan Rathore, Director Finance (RDD) K.S. Jamwal, Joint Director Planning Azmat and other senior officers were present in the meeting.Sagar directed the officers to speed up the work on the left over Panchayat Ghars and ensure their early completion.He said that these should be completed by August end, so that the Panchayats get the requisite infrastructural assets where they can hold their meetings and carry out their day to day functions.
The Minister said that the government has put in place a vibrant Panchayati Raj System by empowering them with the functions of 14 vital departments.He said by getting the requisite Panchayat Ghars, their infrastructural capacities would get a boost.Sagar asked the officers to work in synergized manner in order to ensure that the Panchayat Ghars are constructed as early as possible and the funds earmarked for these are used to the maximum.He said that a proper monitoring system should be put in place, so that a proper feedback is received about their status of implementationIt was given out in the meeting that during the implementation of 13th Finance Commission, 1785 Panchayat Ghars were without buildings and out of which 1678 are being constructed within an estimated cost of Rs 20 lakh each by dovetailing the funds from MGNREA and the 13th FC Award.Similarly, 2215 number of Panchayat Ghars have been taken for renovation with an estimated cost of Rs. 2 lakh per Panchayat Ghars.