Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announces ₹332 crore for rural development, Gram Panchayats, sanitation projects, and infrastructure in 22 districts.
Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, the Punjab Finance Minister, announced on Thursday that a substantial Rs 332 Crore installment would be released for a variety of development projects in Punjab’s rural areas. The goal of these projects is to empower the state’s Gram Panchayats, improve essential services, and accelerate grassroots development. In order to guarantee a steady supply of funds for rural development, he stated that the next tranche, which will total Rs 334 Crore, would be made available by the end of December or the first week of January.
The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, has been working on development projects since the day it took power, according to Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who made this announcement at a press conference held at Punjab Bhawan. This installment will be used for a number of Gram Panchayat development projects, such as the installation of sanitary boxes in the villages.
In order to achieve both general local development and specific specified sanitation activities, the Finance Minister explained that the Rs 332 Crore total installment is being intelligently split between linked and untied payments. According to him, the Gram Panchayats (GPs) will receive a grant of Rs 156 Crore as untied cash that they can utilize for any development project within their respective jurisdictions. In contrast, 176 crore rupees would be allocated as tied funding, which can only be utilized for village sanitation projects. Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis, and Gram Panchayats will split the total grant in a 70:20:10 ratio.
A total of Rs 3,329,750,900 (which includes 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 allotted for rural development projects across 22 districts, the Finance Minister said, highlighting the district-by-district allocation. Hoshiarpur (Rs 170,847,451 in Tied Amount; Rs 114,305,089 in Untied Amount), Gurdaspur (Rs 165,563,924 in Tied Amount; Rs 110,770,166 in Untied Amount), and Ludhiana (Rs 200,143,127 in Tied Amount; Rs 133,905,292 in Untied Amount) are the districts that receive the greatest allocations, he added. Other notable receivers of tied and untied grants are Sri Muktsar Sahib, Sangrur, Patiala, Jalandhar, Firozepur, Fazilka, Moga, and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar.
In response to questions from the media about claims made by Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu regarding the Punjab government’s use of central funds, Finance Minister Cheema stated that the Union Minister’s comments demonstrate both his ignorance and his lack of comprehension of the SNA SPARSH system. “This SNA SPARSH mechanism ensures real-time payments from funds of Central Government and Punjab Government,” he explained. “Under this mechanism, the Government of India credits its share directly to the RBI account of scheme after the state government credits its share (as per the sharing pattern between center and state).”
Another question was addressed by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who advised Ravneet Bittu to stop disseminating false information and instead reveal the layout plan that the Union Government and the state had agreed upon for the Rajpura-Chandigarh railway line project.
Also read : Punjab Vigilance Bureau Arrests ASI in Moga for Taking ₹5,000 Bribe Red-Handed
The Punjab Government’s commitment to creating cleaner, stronger, and more vibrant rural communities through the direct and responsible flow of resources to Gram Panchayats was summarized by the Finance Minister as he wrapped off his speech. The current infrastructure development project, which comprises recarpeting 19,000 kilometers of roads at an expense of Rs 4,150 crore, is enormous, he emphasized. In order to greatly support state prosperity and young possibilities, the government has also built and prepared roughly 250 sports nurseries and is investing Rs 1,000 crore in sports stadiums.