66 municipalities in Guj used only 50 pc or less grant

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today said that out of the 162 municipalities in the state, 66 municipalities used only 50 per cent of the grant given by the government last year, or even less than that.
The CM took urban civic bodies and their elected representatives to task on various issues including under- utilisation of funds while speaking at a function to distribute cheques of grants to the civic bodies here.
She also rapped the officials and elected representatives for slow pace of construction of toilets, maintenance of cleanliness, etc.
"Out of 162 municipalities, 66 municipalities have used only 50 per cent grant disbursed by the government last year. Some of them have used only 20 per cent. Due to such lackadaisical approach, people get disappointed as they feel you have failed to fulfil their expectations," said Patel.

"These civic bodies have to give explanation about non-utilisation of funds....I even asked the Urban Development secretary to be strict and stop further disbursement to those civic bodies which have utilised less than 40 per cent funds," she said.
"Earlier we set the deadline of March 31, which is now

extended to August. But I am in no mood to stretch it till then (August). Get your act together and make your city open- defecation free by the end of this month. There is no concession in meeting that deadline," said the Chief Minister.
Patel, who herself handles the Urban Development and Urban Housing Departments, disbursed grant-cheques totalling Rs 2,600 crore to 20 municipalities, eight municipal corporations, two urban development bodies and the Gujarat Housing Board on this occasion.

The councillors also received a rap on the knuckles. "During my visit to some municipalities recently I received many complaints from the people about local administration. How can a small town having a population of one lakh have so many problems? It shows the situation is really worrisome," said Patel.
"No matter what party you belong to, BJP or Congress, there is no point being a councillor if you can't keep your ward clean. I want you to visit each and every street in your area at least twice a week and report to the authorities if you find garbage," said Patel.

"Some municipalities are totally clueless about government's scheme for creating skilled workforce. Building roads and sewage lines is not enough. Civic bodies must involve themselves in providing training to youths, so that they can be employed in the industry," she said.