250 districts in 27 states backward: Min

New Delhi, Mar 15: The Central government has identified 250 districts in 27 states as backward, C P Joshi, Panchayati Raj minister, said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has been implementing the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) Programme in these identified districts since 2006-07, he said.

The BRGF Programme is designed to redress regional imbalances in development by providing funds for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows in the identified districts, Joshi added.

The BRGF implemented by the MoPR comprises Capacity Building (CB) and Development Grant components. Funds under the CB Component are provided to the states computed at Rs 1 crore per BRGF District per annum for creation of training infrastructure and conducting training courses for the functionaries of the local bodies.

Funds under the Development Grant Component are apportioned among the 250 backward districts as per fixed norms.

Joshi said that the Ministry has received references from some Members of Parliament and members of general public regarding misutilisation of BRGF funds and the Ministry has taken up the matters with the State Government concerned.