DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil on Tuesday ordered the release of pending amount of Rs 35.28 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) to Punjab. The directions came after Punjab Rural Development Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal brought to the knowledge of Patil the pending funds under the scheme, an official release issued here said. Funds of many centrally-sponsored schemes related to the rural development have been withheld by the Union Panchayati Raj Ministry, Dhaliwal said. Patil ordered the release of Rs 35.28 crore for building 10,654 new houses and completing 7,293 under-construction houses in Punjab. The Union minister was here to attend an inaugural function of a two-day national workshop on 'Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in Panchayats. The state government's share under the 'Awas Yojana' will be Rs 25.52 crore, the release said. Dhaliwal also hoped that the Union government would soon release pending funds under MGNREGA and other schemes so that the overall development of the villages could be accelerated. Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal wholeheartedly thanked the Union Minister for this initiative and said that now with the release of this amount 17,947 houses for poor people will be completed. (editor@dailyworld.in)