Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil visited Punjab on Monday to attend the inaugural function of two-day national workshop on Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in Panchayats being organized by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats at Crystal Resort near Chandigarh.
On this occasion, Rural Development Minister Punjab, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, informed the Union State Minister that the funds of many central sponsored schemes related to rural development have been withheld by the union Panchayati Raj Department.
He especially brought to the knowledge of the Union State Minister that funds under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) were pending for a long time with the union Panchayati Raj Ministry.
On the request made by the State Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal regarding the release of funds the Union Minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil immediately ordered to release Rs. 35.28 crore for building 10,654 new houses and to complete 7,293 under-construction houses besides State Government's share of Rs 25.52 crore will also added to this.
Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal wholeheartedly thanked the Union Minister for this initiative and said that now with the release of this amount 17,947 houses for poor people will be completed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) in the state.
He also hoped that the union government would soon release pending funds under MAGNREGA and other schemes so that the overall development of the villages could be accelerated.
Along with this, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal hoped that the central government would provide funds for the development of the villages of Punjab so that the standard of living of the people can be improved by improving the basic infrastructure including health, education, and drinking water in the villages of the state.