Kerala   

Focus on development

KASARAGOD: The Kasaragod district panchayat budget introduced in the council on Thursday focuses on the development of agriculture and education sector and aims to achieve total sanitation in the district.

The budget promises to implement a 12-point programme for the comprehensive development of the district in the current financial year prior to the silver jubilee of the formation of the district in May 2009.

While the ruling LDF members hailed the budget complete, which would usher in positive changes in various sectors, the Opposition UDF and BJP members criticised it as hype and said it lacked provisions to help arecanut farmers, who formed the backbone of the agriculture sector here.

The budget introduced by vice-president of the district panchayat Muhammad Mubarak Haji earmarks Rs.49 crore for implementing 40 irrigation projects. The district panchayat expects to get the whole amount from the special agriculture package for the district from the Centre.

The budget also expects to get Rs.10 crore for projects under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana from the Union government. A sum of Rs.1.59 crore is allocated for implementing a total sanitation project in the district.

The budget has set aside Rs.40 lakh for purchasing equipment for libraries and laboratories in higher secondary schools in the district and Rs.50 lakh for starting multimedia classrooms in five schools.

It also has provisions for starting the ‘Niravu’ education programme in the district and for providing midday meals for students in schools in the district.

In the infrastructure sector, a sum of Rs.1 crore is earmarked for the maintenance of 67 roads under the district panchayat and Rs.1.8 crore for the construction of new bridges and roads.

The budget expects income of Rs.160.9 crore and expenditure of Rs.167.9 crore. Of the total expected income, Rs.121.3 crore is the non-plan grant from the Union government.

In his introductory speech before the presentation of the budget, district panchayat president M.V. Balakrishnan Master said cashew processing units would be started in the district with the help of Kudumbashree units.

Activities under the total sanitation project would be completed in all panchayats and the district would be raised to the status of garbage-free ‘Nirmal’ district. He promised steps for the development of sports activities in the district.

Announcing a 12-point programme for the development of the district, Mr. Balakrishnan said a taskforce would be directed to study problems in the agriculture sector and suggest ways to overcome it.Similarly, developments in the education sector would be reviewed and steps would be taken to improve the sector. The works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme would be subjected to social auditing, he said.

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