Government looking at local bodies to address insufficiency of funds to pay for welfare schemes

Kozhikode: As the financial crisis worsens, the government is seeking funds from local bodies to provide welfare pension and other benefits to the people. The panchayat director has sent a letter to the secretaries asking them to make the payment immediately.

Grama panchayats need to donate Rs 5 lakh, block panchayats and municipalities Rs 10 lakh, corporations and district panchayats Rs 25 lakhs on an immediate basis. The letter specifies that the funds should be transferred to the welfare pension account and the treasury details of the same must be sent to the mission head office. 

The action comes in the light of the insufficient funds allocated in the state budget for the welfare and empowerment projects as part of the social security mission. The government saw a way out when the Accountant General considered borrowing from the pension board as a government debt. 

‘We care’ payment gateway has been launched  to harness this amount. At the same time, the secretaries said that  such funds cannot be transferred without a joint decision of the governing bodies.

These ‘donations’ will not be returned to the local bodies. Earlier, panchayats could offer Rs 1-2 lakhs if they wished to do so. This is the first time that this amount has been raised significantly and enforced.

The withdrawal from the local bodies for the Nava Kerala Sadas became a political controversy. It is following this that the new order comes. As per the order, if the local bodies make the payment, Rs 75.9 crores can be amassed.