Education, sanitation prioritised in ZP budget

 Zilla Panchayat President M Mahadevu presented a budget worth Rs 920.05 crore, here, on Tuesday. As per the budget for the year 2014-15, a lion’s share of the funds has been kept aside to improve educational facilities in the district. Apart from it, funds have been allotted to improve sanitation, agriculture, irrigation and health facilities.

For education, an amount of Rs 114 crore is allotted for planned projects of the department of public instruction, while Rs 439.74 crore is set aside for unplanned projects. During the budget presentation, Mahadevu also acknowledged that works taken up to improve facilities in 60 government high schools for the year 2013-14, are still in ‘preparatory stages’.

For the year 2014-15, Rs 35 lakh is kept aside to improve facilities in 71 government high schools.

In order to improve sanitation in schools and Anganawadis, 50 toilet complexes in schools and 390 toilets in Anganawadis will be constructed, he said, indicating that several government schools in the district still do not have a toilet facility.

Sanitation

During the year 2014-15, a target has been set to construct 51,365 toilets for economically backward families, with the help of grants from Nirmal Bharath Abhiyan.

A total of 21 villages will be chosen from seven taluks of the district, for Nirmal Grama Puraskar of the Central government. The selected grama panchayats will be sanctioned Rs 20 lakh each for starting solid and liquid waste disposal units. A proposal will be sent to the government in this regard, he said.

Apart from this, seven ‘toilet parks’, in various hoblis of the district, will be constructed, in order to encourage people to construct toilets and make the district open-defecation-free.

Irrigation

The first and second phase of works under Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plan will be completed by September 2014. Funds worth Rs 12,000 per hectare has been allotted to improve irrigation facilties in regions, which were selected for the plan depending on crop cultivation, weather, rainfall and other factors.

Drinking water

The ZP has also allotted Rs 141.39 crore for drinking water projects in the district. Rs 3.35 crore has been allotted for the maintenance of drinking water sources.