The Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday came out with another plan to provide funds for rejuvenation of internal roads falling under the ambit of the local urban bodies.
The government has approved Rs 750 crore for the rejuvenation campaign of the roads of 413 urban bodies of the state, and the first installment of Rs 350 crore was transferred to 413 urban bodies of the state on Monday.
While transferring the funds during a programme at Kushabhau Thakre Auditorium in Bhopal, Chouhan claimed that "it was the first time the state government is providing funds from its budget to the urban bodies for the maintenance of roads".
Chouhan said the rejuvenation campaign of internal roads was started by the state government with the objective of ensuring that the urban bodies have adequate funds for the maintenance of roads, due to which it has been decided to provide funds to the urban bodies.
Meanwhile, he also asserted that civic bodies will have to take initiative to develop financial resources on their own. Addressing a gathering, the Chief Minister directed the officials of the urban bodies to work towards legalising the illegal colonies within a time frame.
"It has also been decided that no new illegal colony will be allowed to be built in the state. It is the responsibility of the urban bodies to ensure time-bound implementation of the process of legalising old colonies and to eliminate any possibility of the construction of illegal colonies in their area immediately," Chouhan said.
In the rejuvenation campaign, funds were allocated on the basis of the category of population for the upgradation of the roads of the urban bodies. An amount of Rs 25 crore has been allocated for cities with a population of more than one million, while Rs 7 crore for cities with a population of 2 -10 lakh.
Besides, Rs 3 crore has been kept aside for cities having a population of 1- 2 lakh, while Rs 2 crore for a catering population of 50 lakh for a population.