Gujarat announces new taluka-level Planning Policy

With a view to incorporating a qualitative change in the planning process in the year of Gujarat’s golden jubilee, Minister of State for Planning Shri Saurabh Patel today announced the new decentralized district planning policy, with each of the 225 talukas in Gujarat as a unit.

As per the new policy, each taluka will get a minimum of Rs. one crore grant for the urgent works. They have been divided into three categories as per the number of villages in each taluka.

There are 50 talukas having less than 50 villages and each will get Rs.1.00-crore, 124 talukas with 51 to 100 villages will get Rs.1.25-crore each, and 49 talukas with over 100 villages will get Rs.1.50-crore each.

Shri Patel said the decision has been taken as part of Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi’s vision to make administration more people-oriented and transparent.

He also announced a 180 per cent rise in the total grants of Rs.278.50-crore in 2010-11, up from Rs.112.83-crore in 2009-10. This is in addition Rs.82-crore allotted at the rate of Rs. two crores for each of the 41 least developed or developing talukas during the current financial year.

Shri Patel said that with the new taluka-level planning policy coming into force, the earlier district-level planning process being pursued as per 1979 and 1982 regulations has been scrapped.

The district-wise grant for talukas varies from Rs.18.00-cr for bigger districts like Sabarkantha to Rs1.50-cr for Dangs.
-Highest grant to Sabarkantha district which is Rs 1800 crore. Last year it was just Rs. 626.24 crore.

-Banaskantha gets Rs 1675 crore grant(last year Rs 531.46 crore). Junagadh also gets same(last year Rs 547.26 crore). Next is Vadodara district with allocation of Rs 1650 crore(last year Rs 688.30 crore).