Lift funding restriction on IAP dists

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested the Centre to lift restriction on funding of districts under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP).In a recent letter to the Centre, the Chief Minister has emphasised the Orissa Government’s ability to spend `3000 cr in 2011-12 including the expenditure on the new projects to be sanctioned in IAP districts under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.Naveen has also requested the Centre to raise the ceiling  amount to `100 cr. The Union Ministry of Rural Development has fixed a ceiling of `50 cr in the Maoist-prone IAP districts.Its recent circular has said that total value of the new works proposed and that of sanctioned but not completed should not exceed `50 cr per district. This has created bottlenecks for the district administrations covered  under IAP.  The State Government  has submitted Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for five IAP districts which will provide connectivity to 531 habitations. There are 3,772 such unconnected habitations in the remaining 10 IAP districts.