Bhubaneswar: Asking Orissa Government to
stress on girl education, the third state finance commission
today recommended expenditure of Rs 4480.85 crore for the
development of gram panchayats and urban local bodies in the
next five years.
A delegation of the finance commission headed by its
Chairman, Sudhakar Panda presented the final report to
Governor, M C Bhandare and Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik.
"The final report aims at overall economic development
of the state and inclusive growth of all regions", Panda told
reporters after presenting the report.
Besides Rs 4480.85 crore, the commission also
earmarked Rs 2641.60 crore under grant-in-aid (GIA) category.
It suggested grant of Rs 2220.25 crore for Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs) and Rs 421.35 crore for urban local bodies
(ULBs).
The commission in its 264-page report asked the state
government to strengthen PRIs and ULBs as they directly reach
the people in rural and urban areas respectively.
This apart, the commission also suggested the PRIs and
ULBs to generate more revenue from their internal sources as
the work load on them was increasing by the day.
Asked if the state government could fund such a huge
amount for PRIs and ULBs, Panda said 13th Finance Commission
should take the financial burden. "We have given a memorandum
to the 13th Finance Commission seeking Rs 4480.85 crore for
the development of PRIs and ULBs", he said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 20:42