PM to launch backward regions Development Fund on Monday in Assam

Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh will launch the Mahatma Gandhi Backward Regions Development Fund (MGBRDF) on Monday, February 19, 2007 at Barpetta in Assam.

MGBRDF is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. The Fund will provide financial resources for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows into identified districts.

The Fund has been established with the following objectives: The Fund will bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development requirements that are not being adequately met through existing inflows. This will strengthen Panchayat and Municipality level governance with more appropriate capacity building. The scheme also aims at facilitating participatory planning, decision making, implementation and monitoring, and to reflect local felt needs and to provide professional support to local bodies for planning, implementation and monitoring their plans. The Fund will improve the performance and delivery of critical functions assigned to Panchayats, and counter possible efficiency and equity losses on account of inadequate local capacity.

Funds allotted under the scheme will go to the State Consolidated Fund. Every district will receive a fixed minimum amount of Rs.10 crore per annum plus additional allocations depending on population and area. The scheme covers all districts where the NREGP is implemented. Fifty per cent of the balance allocation under the scheme will be allocated on the basis of the share of the population of the district to the total population of all backward districts.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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