Telangana will spend Rs 25,000 crore in five years for rural development, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced.

The money will be spent under a new scheme ‘Gram Jyoti’, which will be launched on August 15, Independence Day.

The chief minister said each village will be alloted Rs 2 crore to Rs 6 crore depending on the population. The scheme is aimed at strengthening panchayat raj system and to allow gram panchayats to formulate their own development plans.

Rao constituted a cabinet sub-committee to frame modalities for the scheme. The sub-committee, led by Rao’s son and Panchayat Raj Minister K Tarakarama Rao, will submit its report in 15 days.

A statement from the chief minister’s office said he would hold a meeting with officials of Panchayat Raj, planning and rural development departments and district collectors on July 30 to discuss implementation of the scheme.