Villagers of Sallaghari, Uttishbari and Harkaman Gaon in the Sukhiapokhari block of Darjeeling district will have better access to drinking water, thanks to grants from the Japanese.
The Japanese government has provided more than Rs 40 lakh for development projects in Darjeeling and Calcutta. The funds, which have been provided under Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project (GGP), will be used to complete sanctioned projects within a one-year time frame.
“On behalf of the Government of Japan, Mr Yoshikazu Takeuchi, Consul General of Japan at Calcutta signed two Grant Contracts — one with Mr B.P. Rai, Secretary, Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), Darjeeling and the other with the Venerable Dr Buddha Priya Mahathera, General Secretary, Siddharth United Social Welfare Mission (SUSWM) of Calcutta for grant amount of US $ 24,390 (approximately Rs10.95 lakh) and US $ 68,180 (approximately Rs 30.6 lakh) respectively” reads the e-mail that confirmed the news. The mail was sent by the GGP project coordinator from the Japanese consul general’s office in Calcutta after the agreements were signed last evening.
“This is a one-time grant and we will start work from March. Water will have to be brought from a distance of about 2 km and then will have to be connected to these villages,” Rai told The Telegraph over phone from Calcutta.
The GGP supports 100 percent of the project cost, though this does not cover recurring expenses such as salaries, honorarium, rent for rooms and electricity.
Since 1989, the Japanese government has awarded around US $ 1.8 million through its GGP schemes for projects in Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. This is, however, the first time that grants are being provided under this scheme for projects in the Darjeeling hills.
Source: The Telegraph
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment