Chief Minister Raman Singh on Saturday sought active participation of elected peoples’ representatives of the three-tier panchayati raj institutions of the State in the implementation of panchayat and rural development schemes.
The CM, in separate letters written to the panch-sarpanchs, presidents, vice-presidents and members of Janpad and district Panchayats, informed them about the increase in their honorarium. In the letter, Dr Singh said, “You are the most important person who takes decision for the development of your respective village and Panchayat areas. I wish that your area may get the full benefits of different schemes of Panchayat and Rural development.”
Through the letter, he told panchayat representatives to hold meetings on a regular basis for the effective working of panchayats. For this, for the first time in Chhattigarh, the state government has decided to give maximum Rs 2,000 as monthly meeting allowance to the sarpanchs at Rs 500 per meeting.
The Government has also decided to give honorarium to Janpad Panchayat presidents Rs 4,500 per month, Janpad Panchayat vice-president Rs 2,500 and members Rs 1,200 per month. Similarly, district panchayat presidents will get Rs 10,000 as monthly honorarium, vice-presidents Rs 6,000 and members Rs 4,000 per month. Sarpanch Sadan will be constructed and Janpad Panchayat headquarters of for panch-sarpanchs. Under the Mukhyamantri Janpad Shashaktikaran Yojana, each Janpad Panchayat will get an amount of Rs 1 crore per year.
In the letter, the chief minister said that the state government has given top priority for rural development in Chhattisgarh and by doing so, the role of Panchayats made powerful. The Government has also prepared several schemes for the construction and development of basic infrastructure, including education, health, employment schemes.
The chief minister said that the government has decided to increase the amount of basic facilities to be given to panchayats, according to the recommendations of State Finance Commission. Additional allocation of Rs 2 lakh will be given to the 4,507 village panchayats of the 85 development blocks of scheduled areas of the state, he added.
Similarly, five per cent increase has been made in the amount being given for basic facilities in Janpad Panchayats and District Panchayats. With this, the elected office-bearers of Panchayats will carry out their responsibilities in a better way, CM hoped.