Centre blames NE states for non-completion of projects on time

Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh said certain state govts in the region had not submitted important documemts

Centre today blamed some state governments in the Northeast for delay in implementing various development projects, saying due to their apathy, many initiatives have remained incomplete.

Certain state governments in the Northeast have not submitted utilisation certificates, detailed project reports and other required documents on time, leading to delay in completion of projects, Minister for Development of North eastern Region Jitendra Singh said in Lok Sabha.

"There have been reports regarding funds not being released in time and delays in sending utilisation certificates and other documents in a number of cases, resulting in delays in completion of projects," he said during Question Hour.

"Out of 434 projects sanctioned under the NLCPR (non lapsable central pool of resources), there is a delay in 193 projects. Many projects are delayed due to the non-cooperation of some state governments," he said.

In Assam, under the NLCPR, as on February 26 this year, an amount of Rs 2,609.53 crore has been released, against which utilisation certificates amounting to Rs 1,814.65 crore have been received, Singh said.

A road project involving Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, in which the former has already floated tenders for allocating work, is stuck because the latter has failed to do so, he said.

Under the North Eastern Council (NEC) schemes, an amount of Rs 505.48 crore has been released for 81 ongoing projects against which utilisation certificates amounting to Rs 414.89 crore have been received. Out of 81 ongoing projects under NEC, there is a delay in 46 projects, he said.