Telangana to launch Rs 25,000-crore village development plan

Hyderabad: Telangana Government will be spending a massive Rs 25,000 crore over the next 5 years for implementation of a new programme that aims at strengthening Panchayat Raj system and boosting village-level development in the State.

The project, "Gram Jyothi", will be launched on August 15. A Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Panchayat Raj Minister KT Rama Rao has been constituted to work out the modalities of the programme, an official release issued by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's office said on Sunday.

The Rs 25,000-crore programme, to be launched on Independence Day, would empower the Panchayats to design and execute various development schemes for villages under them, it said.

Depending upon their population, Rs 2 crore to Rs 6 crore will be allotted to each village for funding development works, the release said. Ministers for Finance, Roads and Buildings, Agriculture, Irrigation and Forest will be the members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee, it said.

The Chief Minister will hold a meeting on July 30 with the Committee members and other officials to deliberate on implementation of the mega rural development project.