Spending slack in farm ministry

It has spent only 28% of budgetary estimates, against a target of 33%

At a time when India's agriculture growth has averaged a poor 1.7 per cent annually in the last three financial years, the agriculture ministry might face an uphill task to meet its budget spending target for 2015-16 unless there is big push in the coming months.

Official data sourced by Business Standard showed that till August 6, the ministry has managed to spend only 28 per cent of its total budgetary estimates (BE) of Rs 16,646 crore for this year, while it was to mandatorily spend 33 per cent of the total BE till end-July and 42 per cent by the end of August.

However, spending in the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), a key segment, has been quite substantial at 50 per cent of the 2015-16 Budget estimates of Rs 1,300 crore, while it is up to the mark at 33 per cent of BE in another key segment, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

With the finance ministry prohibiting more than 33 per cent of spending in the last quarter (January-March) of a financial year and 15 per cent in March, major schemes other than NFSM and MIDH could face cuts in their allocation at the revised estimates stage if they don't push up spending to 42 per cent of BE by the end of this month.

According to a finance ministry notification, unspent allocations in any quarter would not automatically carry forward to the next quarter. The agriculture ministry might approach the finance ministry in a specified time to modify these allocations, the notification said. In agriculture, funds released or spent for the Centre's major programmes, including those for irrigation, extension services, promotion of oilseeds and pulses cultivation, promotion of agriculture information services and others, were way off the mark till August 6.

"The agriculture ministry has a slight problem in spending as it is seasonal in nature. If you don't spend a good amount of your BE by April-May, then it has go down because rains come around June-July, which hampers spending. Ideally, in a low monsoon year, spending in June-July should go up, as the next round of spending can only start around October," said Abhijit Sen, a former member of the Planning Commission. In the Rs 450 crore allocated for the price stabilisation fund for cereals and vegetables for 2015-16, not a single paisa was spent or released till August 6, 2015. For extension services, against an allocation of Rs 33 crore in 2015-16, only 16 per cent had been released till August 6, 2015. Also, of the Rs 450 crore allocated for price stabilisation fund for cereals and vegetables in 2015-16, not much has been spent so far till August.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, a mere Rs 257 crore or 14 per cent of the Rs 1,800 crore allocation for 2015-16, was released or spent till August 6.

Not a single paise was released or spent till August 6 for developing agriculture infrastructure, against an allocation of Rs 100 crore for 2015-16. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, one of the flagship schemes of the agriculture ministry, has seen a mere 16 per cent of a BE of Rs 4,500 crore released or spent till August 6.

Similarly, in the case of technology mission on oilseeds and pulses, an insignificant Rs 0.04 crore was spent against a BE of Rs 3 crore. According to officials, the issue was raised in a recent meeting, where division and subordinate officers were instructed to ensure at least 42 per cent of the BE for this year was spent or released by month-end.