Build office buildings for all GPs, says Minister

Dayakar Rao reviews work taken up under Centrally-aided schemes

The State government has decided to take up construction of office buildings for all the gram panchayats (GPs) in the State in a phased manner.

The government plans to utilize ₹ 100 crore available under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), comprising contributions from the State and Central governments, towards this end. Emphasis would be on construction of own buildings for the newly created GPs as also those local bodies which do not have own buildings in spite of availability of land.

Panchayat Raj Minister E. Dayakar Rao who reviewed the progress of work launched under RGSA and other Centrally-sponsored schemes with senior officials on Friday said the government had created 4,380 new GPs for administrative convenience. The officials concerned should prepare plans for prioritizing construction of buildings for these new local bodies while preparing plans and ensure that works for construction of buildings for at least 20% of the newly created GPs were taken up in the first phase. “Villages where land is available for the construction should be given immediate priority,” he said.

In respect of the 2,427 km stretch of roads sanctioned under the phase three of the PM Gram Sadak Yojana, officials should prepare plans in consultation with the elected representatives, including MPs, MLAs, MLCs and others. Importance should be given to roads that would be used by majority of the people and proposals relating to the maintenance and repairs of rural roads should be prepared simultaneously.

In this context, he said that the Singareni Collieries Company Limited had decided to give ₹ 150 crore for road construction and maintenance as part of its corporate social responsibility and the funds would be sanctioned jointly to Roads and Buildings and Panchayat Raj department. Focus of the plans should be on patch works relating to BT roads, renewal of roads and repairs and maintenance relating to roads on which buses ply. Efforts should also be made to set up dumping yards and burial grounds/crematoria in all the villages in line with the enhanced budgetary limits announced by the government recently.