By K K Singh
Patna: A high-level meeting convened by the chief minister Nitish Kumar on slow pace of expenditure of planned fund amount, specially in the sectors of public welfare, reportedly remained ritualistic. Kumar, however, expressed displeasure over slow pace of expenditure throughout the early parts of the year and rush to utilise allocated amount in the last two months of the ongoing financial year. Nitish Kumar made it clear that at no cost allocated amount should lapse “otherwise it will adversely affect our next year’s plan size.”
Almost all the departmental heads, who attended the meeting, advanced their pleas and showed also helplessness in utilising the funds in the financial year proportionally because of hurdles in allocating funds timely and also delay in getting utilisation certificates from the districts, sub-divisions and block levels timely.
Not only state’s planned funds, crores of central funds in the sectors including education, health, infrastructure, science and technology, industries remained unutilised, signalling that funds will be lapsed. Of the total sanctioned funds by the Centre on different projects like PM Sadak Yojana, even 30 percent had not been utilised so far in the current financial year.
According to well informed sources in the secretariat, Nitish Kumar directed the departmental heads to overcome the hurdles and take drastic disciplinary action in case of filing non-utilisation certificates. Kumar, however, expressed pain and anguish over the lack-luster performances in utilising allocated funds by water resources development, agriculture, information technology, panchayati raj, welfare departments etc. Kumar pointed out that the government had failed to understand maximum utilisation of the planned funds for development and welfare measures in the last two months of the financial year, raising doubts over the actual utilisation of the funds meant for the schemes.
Most of the departmental heads, however, kept mum over such observation of the chief minister but a few of the departmental heads, reportedly pointed out that apprehensions of the chief minister might be correct as cases of corruption like in human resources development, health department and welfare departments had surfaced. As per reports of defalcation of funds in the successive years in these departments, planned funds had been spent on the last legs of the financial years. In such cases funds for Mahatama Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes funds and also funds for different housing schemes like Indira Awas Yojana and literacy mission funds had become worse casualties. And reports were pouring in that bungling in utilisation of funds had become rampant in these heads, the sources said, and added that departmental heads had promised the chief minister that maximum left over amount will be utilised in the next three months so that allocated funds might not be lapsed.
A few days back, a meeting at the behest of the chief minister had taken note over huge amount of planned fund remaining unutilised when less than three months are left to complete the current financial year. The plan size for current year was Rs. 24000 crore. Of this only Rs. 10000 crore had been spent so far. There was a big challenge before the government that how these remaining amount of plan size, totaling about Rs. 14000, would be utilised in the less than two months of the current financial year! Half of these amounts had not been spent by ten departments including Water Resources, Panchayati Raj, urban development, food and civil supplies, minor irrigation, Science and Technology.
Official sources admitted that situation was alarming. If the allocated plan size of the current financial year was not utilised, the plan size of Bihar is expected to be drastically reduced for the next financial year, putting a question mark over the development ability of NDA government in Bihar.
Meanwhile a public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Patna High Court on Friday about non-utilisation of planned fund by the Bihar government. The petition, which had been admitted by the court, has directed the government to state reasons for non-utilisation of funds by the Bihar government. The petition has also demanded departmental action against the officials of the government for their lapses in not utilising the planned fund and also find out measures so that earmarked funds for various schemes might not be lapsed.
