Chandrapur: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that the Centre has failed to provide necessary grants needed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting the state government to take measures like recalling funds unused at district-level.
Deshmukh was in Chandrapur on Saturday to review the law and order and Covid-19 situation.
The state finance department wide GR May 4 had asked all departments to return unspent money to the treasury. Chandrapur district returned Rs47 crore unutilized for ambitious Chanda to Banda scheme. Data regarding sum returned by other departments in the district are still being gathered.
Deshmukh told TOI that that the centre paid no heed to chief minister’s repeated demand for funds during video conferencing held with the Prime Minister.
According to the minister, 10,000 inmates have been released from prisons in the state so far. He further said eight jails in the state have been put under total lockdown.
On why the district administration failed to allocate funds during initial stages of coronavirus outbreak at gram panchayat level, district collector Kunal Khemnar replied that the GPs were told to first utilize funds already at their disposal. “Now, Rs25,000 per gram panchayat has been sanctioned,” the collector said.
After ease in restrictions on movement, 74,755 people have arrived in Chandrapur from other districts of Maharashtra and other states. Most of them are migrant labourers who returned to their native villages under gram panchayats.
District administration had distributed all its grants for Covid-19 crises to municipal corporation, municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats, while no funds were given to GPs which faced a tough time arranging for institutional quarantine and other facilities of the returnees.
Deshmukh was in Chandrapur on Saturday to review the law and order and Covid-19 situation.
The state finance department wide GR May 4 had asked all departments to return unspent money to the treasury. Chandrapur district returned Rs47 crore unutilized for ambitious Chanda to Banda scheme. Data regarding sum returned by other departments in the district are still being gathered.
Deshmukh told TOI that that the centre paid no heed to chief minister’s repeated demand for funds during video conferencing held with the Prime Minister.
According to the minister, 10,000 inmates have been released from prisons in the state so far. He further said eight jails in the state have been put under total lockdown.
On why the district administration failed to allocate funds during initial stages of coronavirus outbreak at gram panchayat level, district collector Kunal Khemnar replied that the GPs were told to first utilize funds already at their disposal. “Now, Rs25,000 per gram panchayat has been sanctioned,” the collector said.
After ease in restrictions on movement, 74,755 people have arrived in Chandrapur from other districts of Maharashtra and other states. Most of them are migrant labourers who returned to their native villages under gram panchayats.
District administration had distributed all its grants for Covid-19 crises to municipal corporation, municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats, while no funds were given to GPs which faced a tough time arranging for institutional quarantine and other facilities of the returnees.
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