Chandigarh, Feb. 10 -- Punjab social justice, empowerment and minorities minister Baljit Kaur has urged the Centre to immediately release Rs.583 crore for timely completion of ongoing development projects.

Addressing a high-level meeting in Delhi with the Union ministers, Kaur said Punjab has a Scheduled Caste population of nearly 32%, which may have further increased. Given this demographic, she said the gap-filling fund, currently set at Rs.20 lakh per project for villages under the Adarsh Gram Yojana, needs to be increased to at least Rs.1 crore, as the existing allocation is insufficient for comprehensive infrastructure development, particularly for road construction.

Kaur also sought autonomy for the states to select the villages f...