State proposes to link grants to population

The Karnataka government proposes to link the allocation of grants to 5,628 gram panchayats on the basis of their population, instead of the present practice of extending a uniform grant of Rs6 lakh each.

A proposal to enhance the grant taking population as basis and with amounts ranging from Rs10 lakh to Rs15 lakh has been sent to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa for approval, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar told reporters here. He said there has been a demand for higher grants by panchayats which have more population.

The government has issued an order establishing a seperate engineering cell for providing drinking water in 11 districts of North Karnataka region, he said. There was a proposal to recruit about 3,000 panchayat development officers, he said. The government recently appointed 250 pancahyat development officers.