Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 16, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Nov 16, 2007 ePaper |
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Karnataka
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Bangalore
The project is being implemented over five years Centres will help local bodies improve service delivery BANGALORE: The Government has decided to construct “Samarthya Soudhas” (taluk resource centres) in 175 taluk headquarter towns, except Bangalore East, under the World Bank-assisted Karnataka Panchayats Strengthening Project. The Rural Development Department and Panchayat Raj Department, which is implementing the Rs. 600-crore, five-year project (2006-07 to 2011-12), is building the taluk resource centres (TRCs) to help rural people, particularly the poor, voice their demands and put pressure on local bodies to perform. Better service deliveryThe centres will enable gram panchayats to improve their service delivery with respect to the management of public resources as prioritised by the local people. A six-member World Bank team led by Geetha Sethi had an intensive discussion with officials of the department on the implementation of the project. Principal Secretary, Rural Development Department and Panchayat Raj Department, K. Jairaj held a series of meetings with the bank officials over the past two days. The team will tour Bangalore Rural district on Friday to asses the impact of the project. ‘Project on track’“Though the pace of implementation of the project was slow initially, the project is on track now,” Ms. Sethi told The Hindu. The project is now being implemented in 1,343 gram panchayats in 39 most backward taluks of 14 districts identified by the Committee for the Redressal of Regional Imbalances. Funds have been earmarked to establish TRCs in 175 taluks. Each TRC will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 16 lakh. The TRCs will conduct training workshops and skill development programmes for community organisations such as women’s self-help groups (SHGs), watershed associations and drinking water committees. Training for membersSince a large number of elected members of gram panchayats and taluk panchayats are unaware of rural development and anti-poverty programmes of the State and Union governments, the TRCs will also train members as well as staff of local bodies, officials of the department said. The TRCs will enable SHGs, anganwadi workers, community-based organisations and gram panchayats to participate in the planning process, voice their demands to the Government and access services and programmes. A sum of Rs. 9.92 crore has been released to 148 taluk panchayats and Rs. 1.17 crore has been spent so far. Ten taluk panchayats have received the first and second instalments. Since contractors are not participating in the tenders for the resource centres on account of various reasons, the district authorities have requested the Government to permit them to entrust the work to the Nirmithi Kendras. The kendras have been exempted from the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act of 1999. Experts to assistExperts in finance, management, accounts, social mobilisation and other areas will assist the TRCs. Their role will be to assist gram panchayats in participatory planning and budgeting according to government guidelines. The centres will also assist gram panchayats in implementing Centrally sponsored anti-poverty schemes. They will also play an important monitoring function, the officials said.
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