3-fold rise in budgetary grants of disaster mgmt & urban local

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday said the union budget has proposed a three-fold rise in grants of disaster management and urban local bodies of Bihar following recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.

The amount of grant for disaster management was raised to Rs 1888 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 569.50 crore in 2019-20 while that for urban civic bodies was increased to Rs 2416 crore from Rs 818.90 crore, Modi said.

Grants for Panchayati Raj bodies -- district boards, block committees and gram panchayats -- have also reached Rs 5018 crore for the first time, said the deputy chief minister who also holds the finance portfolio in the state's NDA government.

Of the Rs 2416 crore grant earmarked for urban civic bodies, Rs 408 crore will be given to the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), Modi said.

Half of what the PMC will get will be spent on improving the city's air quality and the other half would be used in providing solutions to the problems of drinking water and waste management, the senior BJP leader said.

Of the Rs 1888 crore grant meant for disaster management, 80 per cent will be spent on tackling disasters while the remaining 20 per cent will be used to reduce incidents of disasters, he said.