[bains1971]

Punjab to spend Rs 300 cr for municipality revamp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Money earmarked for various committees and panchayats.

The Punjab government has earmarked Rs 300 crore for various municipal committees and nagar panchayats. Referring to the re-organisation of the blocks and tehsils in the state, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal further stated that all the 141 blocks, 77 tehsils and 76 sub-tehsils would be revamped to ensure a balanced growth in the new model of rural development.

The chief minister also announced that the state government had taken in-principle decision to develop Attari in the border district of Amritsar as a new block. He said that the funds to the tune of Rs 300 crore approximately would be given to the 128 municipal committees and nagar panchayats within 15 days to undertake various development schemes in order to upgrade existing infrastructure of street lighting, tubewells and roads.

He said that 26 municipalities under category-I would be provided Rs 3 crore each, while 41 and 27 municipalities under category-II & III would be given Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively. Besides, Rs 1 crore would be spent each to 34 nagar panchayats for the execution of development activities.

Badal also revealed that five corporation cities had already been sanctioned a sum of Rs 550 crore for the integrated urban development of Amritsar (Rs 165 crore), Jalandhar (Rs 101 crore), Ludhiana (Rs 100 crore), Patiala (Rs 80 crore) and Bathinda (Rs 99 crore).

This apart, the Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) had sanctioned a loan of Rs 500 crore for water supply, sewerage and sewerage treatment plants in the rural segment of the state, Badal pointed out.

The state government had already sanctioned funds worth Rs 850 crore for water supply, sewerage, sewerage treatment plants and other schemes like slum development. Referring to the allocation of the Rural Development Fund, the chief minister said that Rs 4 crore each would be disbursed in each assembly constituency, thereby totaling to Rs 334 crore.

He also mentioned that 9,100 kms of link roads had been repaired at a cost of Rs 876 crore and 1,700 km of new roads with 20 km each in every assembly constituency worth Rs 300 crore had been laid down during the current year.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/ind...?autono=339400