NEW DELHI: Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday said that the draft guidelines for the implementation of the Backward Regions Grant Fund, approved by the Union Cabinet, has been finalised. However, some other Ministries and the State Governments would have to be taken into confidence before these were adopted for implementation.

To catalyse development

Talking to reporters here, Mr. Aiyar said the money under the scheme would go to the State consolidated fund from where it would be directed to the Panchayat level.

"But we will track the fund to ensure that it is not diverted or misused. The funds would be provided only if there are proper district plans and there is active participation of the Panchayati Raj institutions. The plans would have to be approved at the State level by high-powered committees headed by Chief Secretaries," Mr. Aiyar added.

The Rs. 5,000-crore-a-year Backward Regions Grant Fund would cover 250 districts across the country to remove regional disparities and inequalities among various income groups. The fund is aimed at catalysing development in backward areas by providing infrastructure, promoting good governance and agrarian reforms.

Special plans

The scheme has special plans for Bihar and the Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput districts of Orissa.

This will be implemented through the Planning Commission and the total annual allocation under this head is Rs. 1,000 crore for the Bihar package and Rs. 250 crore for the KBK districts. The funds are provided on a 100 per cent grant basis and allocated as additional central assistance to State Plans.

The fund covers all districts where the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme is implemented and all districts mentioned in an inter-ministerial task group report on backwardness constituted by the Planning Commission.

Thirty-six districts of Bihar (the highest), 34 in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Andhra Pradesh, 11 in Assam, 13 in Chhattisgarh and one each in Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Tripura will be covered under the scheme.

As many as six districts of Gujarat, two each in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Kerala, three in Jammu and Kashmir, 21 in Jharkhand, five in Karnataka, 24 in Madhya Pradesh and 12 in Maharashtra will also benefit from the grant.

Similarly, three districts each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland; 19 in Orissa, 12 in Rajasthan, six in Tamil Nadu, three in Uttaranchal and 11 in West Bengal have been identified as backward regions.

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