The State Government on Tuesday urged the Centre to raise the allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for the State to Rs 1,800 crore for the current fiscal.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Centre has earmarked Rs 1,178 crore under the PMGSY for Odisha in 2014-15 of which Rs 1,051.50 crore has been released.
Out of a total of Rs 1,7814.24 crore sanctioned by the Union Rural Development Ministry since the inception of the PMGSY, Rs 11,982.43 crore has been released and fully spent by the State, so far leaving a balance sanction of Rs 5,871.41 crore, Patnaik said. The State has spent Rs 1,615 crore under the programme during the 2013-14 fiscal, he added.
“Considering the above, allocation of Rs 1,178 crore made during the current fiscal will not be sufficient and needs to be enhanced to Rs 1,800 crore as the State Government has already spent Rs 800 crore out of the released fund,” the Chief Minister said, requesting the Prime Minister to allocate Rs 1,800 crore for the current fiscal and release the balance fund at the earliest for smooth implementation of the programme.