UP gets going to build panchayat bhawans

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has embarked upon an ambitious project to build gram panchayat bhawans (village secretariats) in each village panchayat, construct community toilets and repair other buildings with the help of grants available to the panchayats under the 14th and the 15th Finance Commissions and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The twin objective of the project is to locally create jobs for migrant workers as per their skill sets and build community infrastructure in villages to use the same as quarantine centres in the rural areas in view of possible continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic for a long time.

The move comes after the Central government issued directions to all the states, including UP, in this regard last month. The Centre has asked the states to start the work immediately in a mission mode, setting up panchayat bhawans in all the village panchayats during the current financial year.

Reiterating the Centre’s directions, director, panchayati raj, Kinjal Singh on July 1 dispatched a circular to all the district magistrates, asking them to immediately start identifying the sites in villages to build panchayat bhawan and construct community latrines in rural areas.

“The designs of the panchayat bhawans have been drawn and sites being identified to set up village secretariats, each of which will be set up on an area around 145 sqm with 4-5 rooms and a big hall, all costing Rs 20 lakh per such building,” said senior official requesting anonymity.

Of the total 60,346 village panchayats that still do not have a multi-purpose panchayat bhawan in the country, 26,318 are in UP alone. UP has a total 58,762 rural local bodies (RLBs/village panchayats of which only 34,444 RLBs have their panchayat bhawan at present.

A letter written jointly by union secretaries, panchayati raj and rural development, Sunil Kumar and Nagendra Nath Sinha to the state chief secretaries on June 10 said the biggest challenge before the Central and the state government authorities in rural areas at this juncture was to provide employment opportunities to returning migrant labourers in keeping with their skills.

The letter further said that a sample of skill mapping data of migrant workers undertaken by some states revealed that majority of labourers had skills relating to construction industry.

“Further, it appears that effect of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to continue for some time at least. Hence, the requirement for continued establishment of isolation/quarantine centres in rural areas is likely to persist in the foreseeable future,” the letter said. “With a view to providing employment to persons in rural areas as per their skill sets and also to strengthen community infrastructure to enable gram panchayats to effectively meet the challenge, it has been decided by the Government of India to permit utilisation of 14th Commission grants available with gram panchayats as well ensuing 15th FC untied grants during 2020-21 towards construction of specific community assets like gram panchayat bhawans, apart from undertaking repairing and utilising the services of the skilled for the same,” it further stated. It said that 50% of the cost required for building for panchayat bhawans would be utilised from the 14th and the 15th FCs grants and 50% of the cost will be met from MGNREGS funds, making it clear that this relaxation in norms will be applicable for this year only.

As on April 1, 2020, UP’s village panchayats had a balance of grants of Rs 4,314 crore and they received another around Rs 10,000 crore tied and untied grants under the 15th FC for 2020-21.

THE MOVE COMES AFTER THE CENTRE ISSUED DIRECTIONS TO ALL THE STATES, INCLUDING UP, IN THIS REGARD LAST MONTH