The Pioneer 18.11.2013
Rs 751 crore aid granted to 149 local bodies
of octroi to State’s local bodies, Punjab Local Bodies Department has
disbursed the grant in aid worth Rs 751.58 crore to all the 149 bodies
—meant for overall development of the cities.
The grant in aid was provided to the local bodies out of the collection
of the value added tax (VAT), said the state Local Bodies Minister Anil
Joshi on Sunday. Joshi said the funds were provided to the Local
Government for the seven months — up to October 31, 2013 — of the
current financial year 2013-’14 and in total, Rs 751.58 crore was
disbursed to the local government.
The respective Local Bodies
included Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and panchayats would
use this grant for providing better basic amenities and for setting up
modern infrastructure.
Divulging the detail of the amount disbursed to the major cities, Joshi
said that Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has been disbursed an amount
of Rs 184.84 crore, Jalandhar Municipal Corporation Rs 77.87 crore,
Amritsar Municipal Corporation Rs 65.55 crore, Bathinda Municipal
Corporation Rs 33.33 crore, Mohali Municipal Corporation Rs 25.70 crore,
Patiala Rs 18.21 crore, Moga Rs 15.93 crore, Hoshiarpur Rs 13.55 crore,
Pathankot Rs 9.54 crore and Phagwara Municipal Corporation has been provided the finical assistance of Rs 8.99 crore.
Joshi reiterated the Punjab Government resolve to enact total facelift
of all the cities by providing the citizen basic amenities coupled with
ultra modern infrastructure.
