KALUGA, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged on Tuesday over 1.1 trillion rubles ($37 bln) in federal funds for the country's regions in 2010.
The 2009 budget envisaged 1.2 trillion rubles in funds for regional development.
Putin warned at a meeting of a governmental commission on regional development that constant control would be exerted over "the rational and sensible use" of what he described as "sufficiently large" funds.
He also pledged additional federal funding for key events as part of national projects.
Putin criticized spiraling salary expenses for regional and municipal officials.
"Irrational spending on provisions for [regional] government officials and municipal authorities is excessive - more than 116 billion rubles ($3.95 bln)," Putin said.
However, he praised the authorities in the majority of regions for their "superb" performance amid the ongoing economic crisis.
