Bedi calls for civic polls at earliest in Puducherry to avail Central funds

Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi Monday said abundant Central funds for various development schemes in the union territory would be available if the civic polls were held at the earliest. Addressing reporters at the Raj Nivas, she said the Supreme Court had given a directive six months back to the territorial government to hold the polls soon. She said she had reminded Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on the civic elections, lest the Union territory run the risk of facing contempt of court by delaying the polls. The polls have not been held for the last seven years after the term of office of the earlier panchayat institutions ended in 2011.

Bedi said the budget of the union territory for fiscal 2018-19 was more than Rs 7,500 crore and the Central the government had provided had provided around 50 per cent of the total budgetary allocation by way of grant. Sticking to her stand that the Pongal gift hampers would be available only for families coming under the Below Poverty Line, she said the scheme was a budgeted scheme and specific rules were framed last year to implement it. Funds were also adequately earmarked to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach only the BPL families, she said. "This arrangement has been accepted and approved by all," she said.

The Lieutenant Governor maintained that any scheme was bound by specific rules and according to the allocation of funds in the budget and none was above rule of law. To a query on statehood, Bedi, who has been at loggerheads with the chief minister on various issues said the statehood status is the will of the people and the decision of Parliament. "I do not want to make any comment on it," she said. Earlier, she made a power-point presentation, highlighting the implementation of various schemes, including desilting of rural irrigation channels and urban drainage channels, in association with various industries and institutions.

(With inputs from agencies.)