CHANDIGARH, Apr 13:
The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance to ensure that rural development fund (RDF), collected by the state on foodgrain procurement, was spent only on the infrastructure related to mandis in rural areas.
In a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here, the Cabinet gave its approval to the Punjab Rural Development (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022.
With this, the Punjab Rural Development Act, 1987 will be amended in line with the revised principles laid down by the department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India on February 24, 2020, according to an official spokesperson.
The move came after the Centre had withheld the RDF, asking the State gGvernment to use it only for the development of rural infrastructure in the state.
Talking to the reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the previous Congress and Akali Governments in the state of misusing the RDF.
“Be it Akali or Congress governments, they misused the RDF. After that, Government of India stopped the release of RDF to the state,” Cheema said.
“Today the Cabinet has decided to bring an ordinance in this regard,” said Cheema while terming it a “big decision” of the AAP-led Government in the state.
He said the money collected under the RDF will be spent only on infrastructure related to mandis in rural areas. Cheema expressed hope that after this law comes into effect, the Centre will release Rs 1,100 crore as RDF to the state.
Punjab charges three per cent RDF on foodgrain procurement. Notably, Punjab had been using the RDF on works other than rural development. The fund collected under the RDF was used for the ‘Sangat Darshan’ programmes of the then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal by the SAD-BJP regime while the Congress used it to fund its farm loan waiver scheme.
The spokesperson said the RDF will be spent on various works in rural areas including construction or repair of approach roads to mandis and procurement centres, setting up of new mandis or procurement centers, making arrangements for supply of drinking water and for improving sanitation in the mandis.
The fund will also be used for providing well equipped rest houses or night shelters, sheds for farmers and labour engaged in procurement operations.
Likewise, the RDF would also be used for augmenting storage facilities in mandis to store stocks, provide relief to debt stressed farmers to eliminate any possibility of distress sale, development of hardware or software related to procurement or linking of land records, crop survey, bio- authentication of farmers at the mandis and facilitate the procurement activities etc.
It will be used for automation and mechanization of mandis with facility of cleaning, sorting, drying, analyzing quality of grains, small shipping silo, bag sacking and stitching and for carrying out such purposes which may lead to strengthening of mandis, said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile in another decision, the Cabinet also gave approval to fill 145 posts of sub divisional engineer, junior engineer, junior draftsman and steno typist in water supply and sanitation department by direct recruitment through Punjab Public Service Commission and Subordinate Service Selection Board within a year.
The spokesperson further said that the Cabinet also approved a move to help upgrade existing Bharatnet infrastructure to connect all gram panchayats with national broadband network under the Bharatnet scheme of the Centre.
It was in pursuance of the earlier memorandum of understanding between the department of telecommunications, Government of India and the State Government signed in April 2013.
The State Government is committed to facilitating the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking, internet and other services to rural areas by establishing a highly scalable network infrastructure which is accessible on a non-discriminatory basis, said the spokesperson. (PTI)
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