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Deepika Pandey meets Union panchayati raj minister, invites him to visit Jharkhand
Jharkhand minister Deepika Pandey Singh met union minister Lalan Singh, thanking him for the 15th Finance Commission grant and discussing panchayat development.
Around a week after she alleged that the union ministers are not giving appointments for meetings over pending issues of the state, Jharkhand rural development minister Deepika Pandey Singh met union panchayati raj minister Lalan Singh in the national capital on Tuesday and expressed gratitude for recommending disbursal of the first installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant for Jharkhand.
The development comes a week after Singh had accused the central ministers of non-cooperation during the winter session of the Jharkhand assembly last week, when leader of opposition Babulal Marandi had advised the Hemant Soren cabinet members to engage with the union ministers instead of blaming the Centre for everything.
On Tuesday, besides Singh, LoP Marandi, union minister Annapurna Devi, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and state working president Aditya Sahu were also present during the meeting with Lalan Singh.
Singh said she had sought an appointment with the union minister two days back.
“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 union minister had disbursed the first instalment to the state last week. Singh said she also invited the union minister to visit Jharkhand.
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 digitization of panchayats, the effective utilization of the Innovation Fund, the need for central government support to further empower local governance, and the implementation of best practices from other states in Jharkhand,” she added.
