TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: South Goa Zilla Panchayat on Wednesday sought government financial outlay to the tune of Rs 30 crore for the coming financial year as per the Budget estimates for the financial year 2014-15 approved by the body on Wednesday.
Zilla Panchayat Chairperson said the funds sought by the ZP body are paltry, saying the amount is just 0.1 per cent of the state annual outlay. Incidentally, the ZP body has last year asked for Rs 20 crore development assistance, but the government has so far given Rs eight crore this financial year.
Of the Rs 30 crore grant, the ZP has asked the government to increase the outlay for the district panchayat body on the octroi head to Rs 10 crore from the present Rs two crore. While Rs 10 crore has been asked for rural development, Rs six crore and Rs four crore assistance have been sought on the SC/ST development front and 12th Finance Commission respectively.
Nelly told members that the Chief Minister has invited her for discussions on fund allocation for the zilla panchayats before the state annual budget next week. “The Chief Minister has promised to release Rs 1.5 crore this financial year”, she said.
The ZP Chairperson briefed the members about the report filed by the zilla panchayat before the 14th Finance Commission. “I have brought to the notice of the Commission about the neglect of the ZPs by the state government. Neither the defunct DPCs have been revived nor the government has handed over departments such as RDA and Tribal Development to the ZP,” she said, while lamenting that the Goa government has till date not implemented the 12th Finance Commission recommendations allocating central funds and flagship funds to the district panchayat body.
The meeting also constituted a four-member committee to audit the assets of the zilla panchayat. The decision was taken in view of the adverse query raised by the audit about the whereabouts of the ZP assets.
The meeting congratulated the government for
solution on the MoI issue, even as a member said that making Konkani and Marathi as compulsory subjects will create problems for students who have not studied these two subjects at the primary level.
