Haryana govt will delegate more powers to zila parishads: CM Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced that the state government will delegate more powers to zila parishads.

The zila parishads will be allowed to take up monitoring and other tasks under various schemes like establishment of eco clubs and promotion of crop diversification, Khattar said while presiding over the 2nd meeting of the Inter-District Council (rural) in Panchkula, according to an official statement.

The chief minister said Haryana is a pioneer state in setting up Inter DistrictCouncil(IDC) for ensuring development at the grass root level through the coordinated efforts of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of Development and Panchayat Department, was also present in the meeting.

 

Khattar also announced that the Haryana Rural Development Authority (HRDA) will be made more effective to ensure planned development of rural areas.

He said a website having details of all villages in the state will be launched soon and the villagers would be able to upload their suggestions and complaints on the portal.

The state government is in the process of abolishing the system of 'Lal Dora' in the state and Sirsi village of Karnal district has been declared free from it, the chief minister said.

'Lal Dora' reefers to land that is part of the village habitation and is used for non-agricultural purposes only.

Stating that his government is giving special emphasis on solar energy, he said those gram panchayats which have adequate funds could set up solar power plants on the Panchayat land for street lighting and running tubewells.

The chief minister said apart from empowering zila parishads financially, the state Government is also working towards their capacity building.

While exhorting the PRIs to generate their own sources of revenue in addition to the budget released by the state government, Khattar said that the government intends to provide budget ranging from Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore to the Zila Parishads on the basis of population and geographical area.

The chief minister said each zila parishad in the state would constitute a special wing to monitor the functioning of existing angwandi centres and sub health centres.

Khattar said the aim of setting up of Inter District Council (IDC) is to make an arrangement to ensure that the benefit of the government's policies and schemes reaches the beneficiaries at the grass root level.