Odisha's PRIs and ULBs to get Rs 12,793 cr in next five yrs

BHUBANESWAR, November 25: Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Odisha will get around Rs 12,793 crore between 2015-2020 as per the recommendation of the fourth Finance Commission, official sources said. While around Rs 7,379.30 crore will be transferred to PRIs, ULBs will get around Rs 5,413.47 crore during the five year period, officials said. The broad headings for fund transfer are devolution, assignment of tasks and grant-in-aid, according to a decision taken at the high-level monitoring meeting chaired by Chief Secretary G C Pati. Grant-in aid to these local bodies mostly include water supply schemes, street light, construction of staff quarter at gram panchayat level, maintenance of capital assets, creation of capital assets for revenue generation, sanitation and incentives, the meeting resolved. It has been decided to put in place an online MIS (management information system) system for monitoring of the projects right from the conception to commissioning. The panchayati raj department has been directed to roll out the system by December, the officials said. Housing and Urban Development department has targeted to roll it out by February, 2016. NIC and IDICOL have been assigned the task of engineering and designing the software for these departments respectively, they said. Keeping in view the release of the second trench of the grants the finance department has asked the local bodies to furnish the annual action plan and perspective action plan for five years so as to eligible for second trench. The local bodies have also been asked to furnish the information on generation of own revenue sources and progress of expenditure, they added.