SHILLONG, JUNE 22: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma on Wednesday said two committees- one at the state and the other at district council- level will be constituted for utilizing the Rs 260 crore sanctioned by the centre to the three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the state.
The announcement was made after the state government received the guidelines for utilization of the special assistance grant on June 10. Out of Rs 267.4 crore, KHADC will be getting Rs 133.12 crore, JHADC – Rs 33.57 crore and GHADC – Rs 100.71 crore
“We have received a letter from the centre which carries specific guidelines for implementing the funds by the ADCs,” Sangma told reporters on Wednesday.
According to Sangma, the state government has sought clarification from the centre because as per the original sanction letter, it indicated that the state will have to prepare projects, monitor their implementation and submission of UCs.
Referring to the guidelines, Sangma said that the two committees at the state and district council will have to be constituted. While the State Level Committee will be headed by the chief secretary, the 5-10 member District Council Level Committees will be headed by the chiefs of the three respective ADCs.
“We will immediately communicate to the ADCs on the matter,” he said while informing that it will be mandatory for the ADCs to consult the MPs and MLAs while proposing projects.
As per the guidelines, the State Level Committee will examine the project proposals received from the District Council Level Committees. Both the committees will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the projects.
“The state level committee will approve suitable projects and intimate the details of approved projects to the NITI Aayog,” Sangma said. When asked, he said, “Funds have already been released to the state government which will subsequently be release to the ADCs after the proposals submitted by them are approved.”
“If they (district councils) are ready with the proposals, they can send them to the state government,” Sangma added.
Earlier, political parties had demanded the state government to pay interest to the ADCs for the alleged delay in releasing the special assistance grant for over five months.
On this, Sangma said that as per guidelines, interest accrued shall be treated as additional resources and would be utilized for implementation of new projects as proposed by the district council level committee and approved by the state level committee.-By Our Reporter
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