The deputy CM reiterated that he had cut the DPC funds of certain districts like Nagpur and Wardha last year since they were arrived at by taking funds meant for some other districts.
DEPUTY Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said Rs 887.5 crore has remained unspent from the special fund given to all districts in the state to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing mediapersons in Nagpur after reviewing the annual plans of Nagpur and Amravati divisions, Pawar said, “The government had given special funds to all the districts to fight Covid-19… We have now decided that the unspent money will be used for health purposes only.”
Pawar also announced that the government will incentivise better use of funds under district plans by giving an additional amount of Rs 50 crore to the district that performs best in a given division, from the year 2022-23. ” We are calling it the challenge fund. The criteria for it will be 100 per cent use of I-Pass system, timely meetings of District Planning Committee (DPC), spending maximum amount, timely administrative approvals, exemplary implementation of schemes for backward classes, sustainable development and novel schemes.”
The deputy CM reiterated that he had cut the DPC funds of certain districts like Nagpur and Wardha last year since they were arrived at by taking funds meant for some other districts. “I called a delegation of local protesters, who were raising slogans when I was meeting with officials. They complained that several works in the city had stopped due to lack of funds. I assured them that I will call a meeting of local people’s representatives in Mumbai and try to address the issues raised by them,” Pawar said.
He affirmed that the state government was of the opinion that Statutory Development Boards should be given an extension. The Boards’ tenures had expired last year.
Pawar on Wadettiwar’s remark on deputy CM post
When pointed out that his cabinet colleague Vijay Wadettiwar had said that the deputy CM should be from the OBC community, Pawar said, “I heard that he has said something at Jalna. Many rallies are held by different communities. Sometimes, a speaker says something more (than the original script) when people clap. The party that has 145 seats decides who should be CM and Deputy CM. We have seen Barrister Antulay, Sudhakarrao Naik, Manohar Joshi and Devendra Fadnavis becoming CMs before. But I wish him (Wadettiwar) the best for his wish.”
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