Gram Panchayat Bhavans in Telangana to be constructed in rural areas

Hyderabad: Construction of Gram Panchayat Bhavans and repairs to public buildings would be taken up in the rural areas to provide employment to the returned migrant workers.

The Centre has given directions to take up the programme at the earliest. It has stated that Central and State authorities are facing a big challenge in rural areas in the form of providing employment opportunities to returning migrant labourers and rural labourers due to the lockdown in view of Coronavirus.

The Union Panchayat Raj department said that the migrant workers are skilled persons and they should be provided with suitable work. A sample of skill mapping data of migrant labourers undertaken by some States in the past few days reveals that majority of workers have skills relating to construction industry. It is understood that these skilled workers may not be willing to work as unskilled labourer on Mahatma Gandhi NREGS work sites. Further, as per available information, in several States, a large number of isolation and quarantine centers in rural areas have been set up in primary and upper primary school buildings.

These have to be vacated once the schools reopen. Hence, the requirement for continued establishment of isolation and quarantine centers in rural areas is likely to persist in the near foreseeable future.

With a view to provide employment to persons in rural areas as per their skill sets and also to strengthen community infrastructure to enable Gram Panchayats (GPs) to effectively meet the challenges it has been decided by Government of India to permit utilization of 14th Finance Commission (FC) grants available with Gram Panchayats as well the ensuing 15th FC untied grants towards construction of specific community assets like Gram Panchayat Bhawans apart from undertaking repair and maintenance of other public buildings or assets

According to available information, there are about 60,346 Gram Panchayats which do not have Panchayat Bhawans. The maximum approved unit cost for Gram Panchayat Bhawan by Ministry of Panchayat Raj is Rs 20 lakh. It has been decided to meet 50 per cent of cost of Panchayat Bhawan through Finance Commission Funds and 50 per cent from NREGS funds. Further, GPs shall also undertake repair and maintenance of other public buildings such as primary, upper primary schools, health sub centres, cooperative stores etc.

The decision has been taken to meet the key infrastructure deficit in rural areas and to provide immediate employment opportunities to skilled and unskilled manpower currently available in rural areas. These works should be taken up immediately and complete within this financial year in a mission mode.Telangana has Rs 915 crores of unspent grants of 14th Finance Commission. These funds could be utilized to construct about 4,390 Gram Panchayat Bhavans.