Deepender Hooda urges PM to raise grant for NCRPB

Chandigarh, Dec 11 (UNI) Member of Parliament from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to enhance financial resources of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) to enable it to carry forward its main goal to develop the entire NCR on the lines of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi to decongest the National Capital.

In a letter addressed to Dr Singh, the MP drew his attention towards severe financial hindrances being faced by the NCRPB and also suggested ways and means to improve its financial health and urged him to guide the concerned Ministries of Finance and Urban Development to look into the matter favourably.

Mr Hooda suggested to the Prime Minister to increase budgetary allocation of the Board as its annual plan grant was only Rs 100 crore for 2007-08 which was meager. He, therefore, pleaded that the plan grant for NCRPB should be raised to a minimum of Rs 1000 crore for the year 2008-09.

He pointed out that the NCRPB was used for financing basic infrastructure development projects such as building roads, financing human resource development projects such as construction of ITIs, financing projects aimed at improving the standards of living such as provision of water supply, meeting the expenditure of salaries, allowances and other remunerations and finally meeting the administrative expenses of the Board for conducting surveys and preliminary studies.

He said a Rs 100 crore allocation was too small to be meaningful in light of these significant project financing and other needs.

UNI