(a) the details of the schemes of his ministry that were initiated in Kerala and the progress made thereon during the last three year;
(b) the details of funds allocated/released to the State during the last two years and current year, district wise;
(c) whether the funds have been fully utilized in the State;
(d) if, so , the details thereof, district- wise; and
(e) if, not, the reason therefor?
MINISTER OF STATE OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
(SHRI NIHAL CHAND)
(a) to (e) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj till 2014-15 had two major schemes; (i) Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) and Backward Regions Grant Fund(BRGF). Under State component of RGPSA, financial assistance was being provided to States for engaging administrative & technical staff, construction of Gram Panchayat Bhawans, training and creation of training infrastructure for Elected Representatives and functionaries of Panchayats etc. till 2014-2015. However, w.e.f 2015-16 due to State component of the scheme being transferred to State, funds were not provided for Administrative & Technical support, construction of panchayat building, procurement of computers. Details of financial assistance provided to Kerala under RGPSA scheme during each of the last three financial years and cumulative utilization are given in Annexure-I. The funds were provided to the State and not to districts.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) was implementing the District component of the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) in 272 identified backward districts of all the States of the country except Goa. Funds were provided under two components viz. Development Grant and Capacity Building. The fund provided financial resources for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows into identified districts to bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development requirements. Palakkad and Wayanad Districts of Kerala were covered under the BRGF Programme. The BRGF Programme has been delinked from budgetary support of the Central Government with effect from the financial year 2015-16. The District- wise details of funds allocated/released to Kerala under BRGF Programme during the last two years and current year is given at Annexure-II.