UP village enterprises get Rs 1,000-crore package

Lucknow

Amid stir by a section of farmers over new farm laws, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has decided to infuse Rs 1,000 crore in the rural economy with direct procurement of goods from village enterprises.

The financial package is expected to create a multiplier effect on the business and self-employment opportunities in the expansive hinterland of the state across 75 districts.

Under the blueprint, the UP government will procure goods and materials worth more than Rs 1,000 crore at the local level through 58,189 gram panchayats. The compliance with financial rules during procurement will be ensured by the elected panchayat bodies.

The state Panchayati Raj department has asked the panchayats to function from their respective village secretariats, as such offices will be equipped with standard furniture, computers, internet, solar energy paraphernalia etc.

Meanwhile, the state has clarified that the purchase of furniture and equipment for the village secretariats will be done by the panchayats at the local level, thus ruling out pooling of any kind at the block or district levels. This will ensure that the intended money is infused in the local enterprises only.

The government has approved a budget of Rs 1.75 lakh for each of the village panchayats for procuring chairs, tables, cupboards, solar panels, carpets, fans, computers, CCTV cameras etc.

“In total, the state will incur more than Rs 1,000 crore across all the village panchayats in the state,” a government official said on July 27.

Even as panchayat blocks are already being constructed in 33,577 villages, the remaining 24,617 panchayat buildings are also on cards. Of these, 2,088 panchayat buildings are being constructed under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) and 22,529 under the Finance Commission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

The under-construction panchayat buildings are likely to be completed in the next three months, the official informed.

(Virendra Singh Rawat is a Lucknow-based financial and economic journalist.)