NRIs say no to rural projects as govt fails to release grants

Tuesday, 07/04/2015

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/

Chandigarh : Several NRI bodies working towards developing Punjab villages on the pattern of urban areas have decided to discontinue their projects. The reason, as stated by representatives of these organisations, was that the state government was non-serious towards the works initiated by them.

Over the past two years, the government had reportedly failed to provide its share of grants for the projects funded in the range of 25 to 50 per cent by the NRIs. Prominent among these NRIs are Herb Dhaliwal, former Federal Minister of Canada, and Dr Gurdev Gill, first Indo-Canadian to graduate from Medical School of the University of British Columbia.

Dhaliwal, Gill and several other NRIs had grouped under the banner of Indo-Canadian Friendship Society of British Columbia and Indo Canadian Village Improvement Trust to carry out various works in Punjab.

Kharoudi in Hoshiarpur was the first village where these NRIs had worked in 1999. Even former President APJ Abdul Kalam had visited the village in 2003 to see the change brought about by the NRIs. Chief Minster Parkash Singh Badal, on the post in 1999 too, had announced that his government would provide at least 50 per cent of the funds for the integrated development projects while the remaining was to be contributed by the NRIs.

One after another, these projects were replicated in 16 villages across the state with the government subsequently increasing its funding to 75 per cent. However, no grants have been released by the government for the past two years. Following this, the projects initiated at Bhamboi, Jandli and Padnori have been stuck midway. “Due to paucity of funds, we are not in a position to take up more projects,” said Dhaliwal. He said the government was likely to reduce its share again to 50 per cent.

Gill said they had even brought the matter to the notice of Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, but to no avail. He said their organisation had now taken up a project in Uttarakhand where funding was being done by a corporate house under the Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.

Setback to development

Several NRI bodies had been working towards providing basic amenities in Punjab villages

The NRI bodies had been bearing 25 to 50 per cent of the cost while the rest was to be borne by the state government

But the government has failed to release its share of grants over the last two years

As a result, the projects taken up by the NRIs in three villages are stuck midway