Panchayats & Rural Devp among most benefitted depts in state Budget

Kolkata: Panchayat and Rural Development is among the departments that has seen a significant boost in the state Budget, with Rs 20,786 crore being allocated for the next financial year of 2020-21.

According to the Budget presented by state Finance minister Amit Mitra in the Assembly, the Bengal government has secured the highest position in the implementation of MGNREGA. In the current financial year, 14.55 crore person days have been generated as on December 31.

In the current financial year, water conservation and water harvesting structures have been completed by the Panchayat and Rural Development department till now.

During 2019-20, around 1,165 km new roads have been constructed, while 3,500 km roads are under various stages of construction. Till December 2019, a total of 22,70,374 beneficiaries have been benefitted under the National Social Assistance Programme and Rs 940 crore has been spent.

The Finance minister has allocated a fund of Rs 8,750 crore to the School Education department for the next financial year. Since 2011, more than 1,87,000 additional classrooms have been constructed so far.

Free school uniforms have been given to more than eight crore school children, free schoolbags to nearly 73 lakh and shoes to around 170 lakh students. In 2019-20, school uniforms have been given to more than 108 lakh students of primary and upper primary level so far.

65 English medium schools have been sanctioned under the government sector. In the higher education sector, state government has allotted a fund of Rs 700 crore for the next financial year.

The gross enrollment in higher education has increased from 13.24 lakh in 2010-11 to 20.97 lakh in the 2019-20 academic session.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Engineering and Drinking Water department has received an allotment of Rs 2,780 crore in the state Budget. The Public Works department has got a budgetary allocation of Rs 4,400 crore for the next financial year.

For the improvement of road connectivity in the current financial year, the PWD has widened and strengthened 140 km roads to 2-lane with carriageway with a width of 10 meter and 270 km roads to 2-lane carriageway with width of 7 meter.

The state Finance department has allotted a fund of Rs 8,430 crore to the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department. The Finance minister said in his Budget speech that some of the important schemes undertaken by the department in 2019-20 are Kalighat Skywalk at the cost of Rs 77.32 crore and sewerage treatment plant at Budge Budge at the cost of Rs 190.09 crore.

Rs 5,486 crore has been allotted for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare department, with Rs 4,608 crore for Health, Rs 2,820 crore for Irrigation and Water Supply and Rs 985 crore for Transport.