Chandigarh, June 26 – Haryana Government is continuously working to empower panchayats both by granting them authority and by making them financially strong to speed up development works in rural areas. As part of these efforts, about Rs 157.37 crore collected as panchayat tax by the Power Corporations have been distributed to the panchayats.
Giving more details, Minister of State for Development and Panchayats, Sh. Mahipal Dhanda stated that the Haryana Government levies a panchayat tax at the rate of 2 percent on electricity bills of consumers within the limits of the Gram Panchayat area. However, this tax does not apply to electricity consumption by the Government of India, for railway construction, maintenance, or operation, or by agricultural consumers.
He said that the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited(UHBVN) collected Rs. 107.37 crore (lump sum) by March 31, 2023. This amount has been transferred to the accounts of the respective village panchayats in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panchkula, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonipat, Yamunanagar, and Jhajjar districts, which fall under UHBVN’s jurisdiction.
Apart from this, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), collected Rs. 50 crore which has been transferred to 12 DDPOs under DHBVN’s jurisdiction for further distribution to the respective Gram Panchayats. Thus, a total of Rs. 157.37 crore has been distributed to the panchayats by both power corporations, said the Minister.
Sh. Mahipal Dhanda said that this amount is utilised for carrying out development works and maintenance in the villages. The state government’s aim is to make Gram Panchayats administratively and financially strong so that besides infrastructural development, basic facilities could be provided to people in rural areas.
