E-Paper
Centre’s okays grant for J’khand after rural dev minister meets Union min over pending dues
Jharkhand's rural development minister Deepika Pandey Singh met Union minister Lalan Singh, thanking him for the 15th Finance Commission grant and discussing panchayati raj issues.
Days after alleging Union ministers were not giving appointment for meeting over pending issues of the state, Jharkhand rural development minister Deepika Pandey Singh met Union panchayati raj minister Lalan Singh in Delhi on Tuesday and expressed gratitude for recommending disbursal of the first installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant for the state.
The development comes a week after Singh accused the ministers of non-cooperation during the winter session of Jharkhand assembly last week, when leader of opposition Babulal Marandi advised the Hemant Soren cabinet members to engage with the Union ministers instead of blaming the Centre for everything.
On Tuesday, besides Singh, LoP Babulal Marandi, Union minister Annapurna Devi and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and state working president Aditya Sahu were also present in the meeting with Lalan Singh.
“Today, I met with the honourable minister of panchayati raj Lalan Singh ji, in Delhi. I expressed my gratitude to him for recommending the first installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant for Jharkhand. This decision will strengthen the panchayats and give new impetus to rural development,” Singh said after the meeting.
The minister further said, during the meeting, a comprehensive discussion was held on all important issues related to panchayati raj. “Agreement was reached on the digitisation of panchayats, the effective utilisation of the Innovation Fund, the need for Centre’s support to further empower local governance, and the implementation of best practices from other states in Jharkhand,” she added.
In a separate statement, the state unit of the BJP said a delegation led by Babulal Marandi met Lalan Singh in New Delhi. “The delegation included acting state president and MP Aditya Sahu, Union minister Annapurna Devi and former state president and MP Deepak Prakash. Jharkhand government minister Deepika Pandey Singh was also present on this occasion,” the party said.
