-The Hindu
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday urged representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to ensure best use of the funds allocated for the rural areas so that these areas could come up at par with urban areas.
Mr. Hooda was addressing the sarpanches and other PRIs representatives who had converged at his residence here to thank him for devolution of powers to the panchayats.
He said that his regime had never lagged behind in allocating funds for development of rural areas but observed that sometimes these were not used in the “right spirit.”
While criticising the erstwhile Indian National Lok Dal regime for taking away the powers of PRIs and suppressing the powers of elected representatives by nominating ‘Village Developmental Committees,’ he said that it was the responsibility of the PRIs to push away those forces which acted against the rights of the elected representatives.
He further added that the people were aware about “how grants allocated to the panchayats were taken back by the then ruling politicians in the garb of donation to trusts or money garlands on the pretext of felicitations.”