News Analysis India

Tag: panchayats

  • Overruling own decisions, Baghel govt spares Tatas Rs 200 cr penalty

    OVERRULING THE decisions of two IAS officers who were successive CEOs of the key nodal agency for a Rs 3,057-crore rural broadband project, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh decided not to deduct Rs 200 crore in penalties it had imposed on Tata Projects Ltd for twice not meeting its deadline.

    This penalty was as per terms of the agreement between the company and the state and its imposition was a decision ratified by a Chief Secretary-led committee, records investigated by The Indian Express have found.

    That’s not all — the state government also refunded a Rs 28.79-crore penalty already levied, despite having granted Tata Projects an extension of timeline twice in two years. The lighting up of gram panchayats in Chhattisgarh with internet is part of the nation-wide BharatNet project, one of the flagships under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India plan, and aims to connect 2.5 lakh villages.

    As on September 25, 2020, Tata Projects could ensure broadband-ready infrastructure in only 1,394 gram panchayats (24 per cent of the target). A detailed questionnaire mailed to Tata Projects Ltd on October 26 did not elicit a…

  • CM Gehlot approved the formation of 59 new Village Service Cooperative Societies in Rajasthan

    The Ashok Gehlot government of Rajasthan has approved the formation of 59 new village service cooperative societies in the state. These 59 new Village Service Cooperative Societies have been formed in gram panchayats of 17 districts of the state. About 30 thousand farmers are associated with them. Villagers have been demanding them for a long time. The farmers of these areas will benefit from the formation of new cooperative societies.

    Cooperative Registrar Muktanand Aggarwal informed that out of these 8 cooperative societies have been formed in Pratapgarh district and 7-7 in Banswara and Jaipur districts. At the same time 6 committees have been formed in Churu, 5 in Tonk, Sirohi and 4-4 in Bundi. Apart from these, 3-3 committees have been formed in Barmer, Rajsamand, Nagaur. While 2-2 in Bikaner and Chittorgarh and 1-1 new committee has been formed in Sikar, Jalore, Ajmer, Alwar and Jhunjhunu.

    Cooperative registrar Muktanand Agarwal says that every village panchayat in the state should have a village service cooperative society, steps are being taken continuously by the cooperative department. With the formation of village service cooperatives, the structure of cooperatives will be expanded at the gram panchayat level. With the formation of these new Village Service Cooperative Societies, farmers will get facilities like loan facility, fertilizer seed and e-friend in their Gram Panchayat itself.

    According to the Cooperative Registrar, the formation of cooperative societies will benefit the common people from the work being done by the cooperative society. At the same time, the member farmers associated with the cooperative committee will also get the benefit of the facilities being provided by the committee. At present there are more than 6 and a half thousand village service cooperative societies.