Now dist collectors not paying any heed to defunct boards

Lokmat News Network

Nagpur, June 25

Vidarbha Development Board (VDB) has now been defunct for almost one and a half years. Now even the district collectors are not listening to it. It has been revealed that the three district collectors of Vidarbha have not given the account of the special funds given before the end of the term of the development board.

The tenure of three development boards of the state including Vidarbha Development Board has ended on April 30, 2020. Earlier in 2019, funds were allocated through the VDB to improve the standard of living of backward villages in the Human Development Index. Now it is being feared that the funds might have been misused. There is speculation that the fund might have been spent on some other work.

A amount of `50 crore each was allocated to the three development boards of the state – Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra. VDB distributed this fund to backward tehsils in Human Development Index. VDB is busy finalising the account of this fund from last 14 months, since the end of the Board’s term on April 2020. VDB has written a letter to to the district collector asking for the account of the fund.

But Amravati, Buldhana and Chandrapur districts have not yet given their accounts. The Board is sending reminders to collectors every third month, but till now the account has not been handed over. VDB is no longer in existence legally. Raj Bhavan is not as active in the functioning of the Board as before. The leaders of Vidarbha are also apathetic. As a result, the district collectors are not taking the reminders seriously.

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Half of tehsils got benefits

Of the 120 tehsils of Vidarbha, 60 had proved eligible for the special fund. Of these, only Saoner and Ramtek tehsils are included in Nagpur district. Similarly, 7 tehsils of Buldhana, Akola-1, Amravati-2, Yavatmal-7, Amravati-2, Yavatmal-7, Bhandara-5 and 8 tehsils of Gondia were benefited. Maximum 11- 11 tehsils of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts benefited. Every year the three boards got `100 crores fund each. The fund was closed in 2014.

In last year, the Fadnavis government gave `50 crores each to to the three boards, on the condition that it would be spent on backward areas in the Human Development Index. The tenure of the Boards ended the very next year after getting the fund.

Will send reminders to district collectors again: Khatri

Manisha Khatri, the in-charge member of the Board, said that special funds have been given to backward areas in the Human Development Index. The Board is taking account of funds from all the districts. Reminder letters are being shared repeatedly to the districts that do not give accounts. Soon the district collectors of these districts will be given a letter again.