KCR annouinces Rs.25,000 cr to boost for Telangana villages

Hyderabad: 'Gram Jyoti' - a special programme chalked out with the basic objective of focusing attention on round development of villages with an outlay of Rs 25000 crores will be launched by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on August 15, as part of the Independence Day celebrations.

The programme to be implemented in the next five years, will help spent Rs 2 crores to Rs 6 crores on each village depending on its size of population. A cabinet sub-committee, headed by Panchayat Raj Minister K T Rama Rao, has been constituted to evolve guidelines for implementing the new programme. The committee will have Finance Minister Etala Rajender, R and B Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, Irrigation Minister Harish Rao and Forests Minister Jogu Ramanna as members.

The Chief Minister held a meeting at his camp office on Sunday to give a shape to the scheme. Ministers KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, Panchayat Raj principal secretary Raymond Peter, CMO additional secretary Smita Sabharwal, Ranga Reddy district collector Raghunandan Rao and RWS engineer-in-chief Surender Reddy took part in the meeting. Objectives of the scheme are to strengthen the panchayat raj system, encourage gram panchayats to play an active role and



prepare plans at the grassroots level for rural development.

The State government releases funds to village to implement the works planned by the village panchayat. Purpose of ‘Grama Jyoti’ is to implement development programs as per needs and necessities of villages, the Chief Minister noted. The Cabinet Sub-Committee has been asked to submit report to him within a week. He said that a meeting would be held on July 30 at MCR HRD Institute here with the participation of K T Rama Rao, Planning Board vice-chairman Niranjan Reddy, Panchayat Raj principal secretary, Planning secretary, Rural Development commissioner, district collectors and joint collectors.

Instead of implementing plans prepared at the State level, it is advisable to evolve plans by stakeholders at the grassroots level and pave the way for rural development, he said. Implementation of the program ‘Mana Vooru Mana Pranalika’ provided right platform to launch ‘Grama Jyoti’ scheme, he said adding that the government’s resolve is to cater to needs of all villages under the program. He said that Rs 25,000 crore was needed to implement the program. The guidelines would be finalized only after the Cabinet sub-committee submits its report to the Government, he added.