SAYS, NEXT INSTALLMENT OF RS 334 CRORE TO BE RELEASED BY DECEMBER END OR IN FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY
SLAMS UNION STATE RAILWAY MINISTER’S MISINFORMATION ON FUND MISUSE, CITES SNA SPARSH SYSTEM
ALSO CHALLENGES UNION STATE MINISTER TO DISCLOSE RAJPURA-CHANDIGARH RAIL LAYOUT PLAN
Chandigarh, November 13
Punjab Finance Minister, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, on Thursday announced the release of a significant Rs 332 Crore instalment for various development works across the rural areas of Punjab to accelerate grassroots development, improving essential services, and empowering the state’s Gram Panchayats. He said that the next installment of Rs 334 Crore would be released by December end or in the first week of January, ensuring a continuous flow of resources for rural upliftment.
Revealing this while addressing a press conference here at Punjab Bhawan, the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government has launched the development works from very first day of assuming the reins of the state and this installment will be used for various development works of Gram Panchayats including sanitation box in the villages.
Giving details of the funds released, the Finance Minister said that the total instalment of Rs 332 Crore is being strategically divided into Tied and Untied funds to ensure both general local development and specific mandated sanitation works.He said that a grant of Rs 156 Crore is being given as Untied funds, which the Gram Panchayats (GPs) can use for any development work in their respective jurisdiction. Conversely, Rs 176 Crore will be used as tied funds, which can only be used for the purpose of sanitation works in the villages. The overall grant will be distributed in the ratio of 70:20:10 in the Gram Panchayat: Panchayat Samitis: Zila Parishads.
Highlighting the district-wise allocation, the Finance Minister said that a total of Rs 3,329,750,900 (comprising a Grand Total Tied Amount of Rs 1,766,319,970 and a Grand Total Untied Amount of Rs 1,563,430,930) has been allocated across 22 districts for rural development works. He said that the districts receiving the largest allocations are Ludhiana (Rs 200,143,127 in Tied Amount; Rs 133,905,292 in Untied Amount), Hoshiarpur (Rs 170,847,451 in Tied Amount; Rs 114,305,089 in Untied Amount), and Gurdaspur (Rs 165,563,924 in Tied Amount; Rs 110,770,166 in Untied Amount). Other significant recipients of both tied and untied funds include Sangrur, Patiala, Jalandhar, Firozepur, Fazilka, Moga, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Tarn Taran.
Meanwhile, addressing media queries regarding Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu’s allegations about the Punjab government’s use of central funds, Finance Minister Cheema said that the Union Minister’s remarks reflects his lack of information, and also suggesting a lack of understanding about the SNA SPARSH system. He said that under this mechanism, after the credit of state share by state government (as per sharing pattern between center and state), the Government of India credits its share directly to the RBI account of scheme, hence, this SNA SPARSH mechanism ensures real-time payments from funds of Central Government as well as Punjab Government.
Responding to another query, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema urged Ravneet Bittu to refrain from spreading misinformation and instead disclose the layout plan shared by the Union Government with the state for the Rajpura-Chandigarh railway line project.
Concluding his address, the Finance Minister outlined the Punjab Government’s commitment to building cleaner, stronger, and more vibrant rural communities through the direct and accountable flow of resources to Gram Panchayats. He underscored the immense scale of the current infrastructure development project, which involves recarpeting 19,000 kilometers of roads at an expenditure of Rs 4,150 crore. Additionally, the government is investing Rs 1,000 crore in sports stadiums and has constructed and readied about 250 sports nurseries, significantly bolstering state growth and opportunities for youth.
