The State Government has set aside about Rs25 crore to clear the pending electricity bills under the “Nal-Jal” Yojana of village panchayats in Chhattisgarh.
Chief Minister Raman Singh has directed the concerned authorities not to disconnect power connections for not paying bills. The pending bills will be cleared by the State Government, officials stated.
Arrangements have been made to provide financial assistance to the panchayats. Financial powers of the sarpanches have been
hiked to provide basic infrastructure facilities in villages, officials stated.
An amount of Rs583 crore had been allocated to village panchatyats to provide basic infrastructure in the current fiscal 2015-2016.
The sarpanchs can sanction up to Rs20 lakh for basic facilities in rural regions. The funds can be utilised for the construction of schools’ building, Anganwadi bhawans, community buildings, Nal-Jal Yojanas and over-head tanks, concretization of lanes and works relating to Swachcch Missions.
Meanwhile, the State Government has been constructing housing colonies for panchayat secretaries at village panchayats head-quarters across Chhattisgarh.
About 500 houses have been constructed till date. The State Government is keen to provide housing facilities so that the Panchayat secretaries can reside in headquarters and serve the masses, officials stated.