Union ministry refuses Rs 200-cr grant to Gujarat

developmental activities in the backward districts of the state. For, the government has failed to meet certain guidelines set by the ministry to avail funds under its Backward Regions Grant Fund BRGF scheme.

The Union Ministry has refused to release the grant money of over Rs 200 crore for the last two years. This apparently belies the ruling BJP8217;s often-repeated claim that the Modi regime was development oriented.

Under the national-level BRGF scheme, the Panchayati Raj Ministry has earmarked

Rs 506.55 crore for Gujarat to undertake developmental works in five years 2007-2012 for the uplift of the rural poor. The scheme is designed to redress

regional imbalances in development.

Among other guidelines, each of the beneficiary states has been mandated to set up District Planning Committees DPCs in the backward districts identified by the Centre to avail funds under the scheme. The Gujarat government has, however, not yet constituted DPCs in the six tribal-dominated districts 8212; Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Dahod, Panchmahals, Narmada and Dangs 8212; selected by the Centre.

Taking serious note of this 8220;lapse8221;, Chief Minister Narendra Modi convened an emergency meeting of ministers and senior officials immediately after the weekly Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, where he reportedly directed officials to form DPCs without further delay. Modi also sought to know from them as to why DPCs had not been constituted as mandated under the BRGF8217;s guidelines, sources said.

Gujarat Panchayat Minister Narottam Patel refused to comment on the issue, saying, 8220;I cannot divulge anything that has been discussed at the meeting. Mediapersons should approach government spokesman Jay Narayan Vyas for this.8221;

A senior official who attended the meeting, however, conceded that despite Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar having written to the state government, the DPCs were yet to be set up in the six districts. 8220;The laxity has forced the Union ministry to block the funds,8221; he said.

The official added that the grant of over Rs 200 crore was earmarked for Gujarat for 2007-08 and 2008-09 under the central-aided programme. But barring an initial one-time release of Rs 60 lakh, the union ministry has refused to provide the remaining grant money, he said.

8220;We already have district planning boards DPBs in all the districts. It is suggested that these DPBs could be converted into DPCs to fulfill the Central guidelines. But we never know if this will be acceptable to the Centre,8221; said an official.