Release of Funds for Odisha

The Minister of Panchayati Raj Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo has said that under the Capacity Building component of Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), States are entitled to funds @ ` 1 crore per BRGF district. Odisha entitlement till 2011-12 was ` 19 crore. During 2011-12, an amount of ` 4.80 crore was released as the first installment to Odisha against the approved Capacity Building plan for the year. However since BRGF funds are lapsable, Odisha cannot claim the balance amount of ` 14.20 crore of Financial Year 2011-12 during the current Financial Year.

Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha today has said that initially, 19 districts of Odisha were covered under the District Component of Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF). In the current financial year, one more district of Odisha namely Bargarh has been included. There is no proposal under consideration to include more districts under BRGF in Odisha in the current year.

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