The state government has taken a very big and historic decision in the direction of making the cities of Bihar beautiful, modern and economically strong. The government has officially approved its participation in the highly ambitious ‘Urban Challenge Fund’ (UCF) mission of the Central Government. With this step of the government, the picture of urban areas of Bihar is going to completely change in the coming days.
According to the latest information received from the department, under this special mission, now the concerned municipal bodies of Bihar will be able to sign MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) directly with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This big decision of the state government is going to be of great help in rapid development of infrastructure in the urban areas of Bihar, finding new sources of earning and creating new employment opportunities for the local youth.
Bihar got its share of entire Rs 2,900 crore
Under this scheme, the Central Government has made a provision of huge assistance of Rs 1 lakh crore to brighten the cities across the country through the Urban Challenge Fund Mission. The best thing is that from this mega-fund, entire Rs 2,900 crore has been earmarked for the development of Bihar. However, the government will not pay the entire amount for the development work done through this fund from its own pocket.
Under this scheme, 25 percent of the total cost of any project will be borne by the Central Government and 25 percent will be borne by the State Government, which is 50 percent in total. This simply means that the central and state governments will jointly give half the amount, but the remaining half (50 percent) will have to be raised by the concerned municipal bodies themselves. Bodies will be able to raise this money through loans, bonds or other financial instruments.
HUDCO made partner for providing loans
The Government of India has designated ‘Housing and Urban Development Corporation’ (HUDCO) to provide financial resources to the municipal bodies and help them easily raise the remaining half of the amount. With the help of HUDCO, loans will be provided to the municipal bodies very easily for the selected projects.
According to the report, under this mission, only those projects and projects will be given priority, which can become a strong source of income i.e. revenue for the municipal bodies in the long run. The government has full confidence that this new and unique system will make the municipal bodies of Bihar completely self-reliant and more financially capable, which will give a new and faster pace to the planned and sustainable development in the cities of the state.
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