Govt Concerned Over Road Fund Use

The government has expressed concern over the slow pace of utilization of money accruing to state governments from the Central Road Fund (CRF) for upgradation of state roads.

"Utilisation of cess money by states so far has not been good, despite our having sanctioned projects worth Rs 1576.53 crore last fiscal for improvement of the condition of state roads," minister of road transport and highways BC Khanduri has said. State governments have to expedite taking up of approved work so that further sanction of funds is possible, he said.

Projects amounting to Rs 1576.53 crore for state governments have been approved from the CRF up to August 2001. Proposals amounting to Rs 850.74 crore received from various states are being examined by the ministry of road transport and highways and are expected to be finalized shortly.

 

Rs 985 crore was allocated to various state governments in 2000-01 for development of state roads from the CRF. Of this, one-third has already been released and further release of funds is linked with the utilisation certificates to be furnished by states with respect of funds already released, Khanduri said at the Parliamenatry Consultative Committee meeting held here recently.

A tentative provision of Rs 962 crore for state roads has been made this fiscal. "However, states have been lax in using this money for upgradation of state roads, which are mostly in pitiable condition," an official in the ministry of roads said.

As per the guidelines, projects for state roads from the CRF are required to be completed within 24 months. States have to send detailed estimates, following which the ministry sanctions the projects. The fund share for states is fixed by considering the total fuel consumption in the state (which gets a 60 per cent weightage) and the total area of the state (a weightage of 40 per cent).

Prior to applying the concept of levying user charges in the roads sector, a meager sum of around Rs 25 crore was being collected by way of tax on automobile fuel for improvement of roads. The levy of a one rupee cess per litre of petrol (from June 1998) and one rupee per litre of diesel (from March 1999), revenue from which is accrued to the dedicated non-lapsable CRF, promises to change the roads' sector if implementation is done in the right earnest, the official said.

The ministry of Road transport and highways is already implementing the Rs 58,000 crore National Highways development Project (NHDP), which is part-financed by the cess money.

Of the total money accruing from the levies on fuel, 50 per cent of the cess money from diesel goes for the development of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana being implemented by the ministry of rural development. Of the balance 50 per cent cess from diesel and the entire cess on petrol, 57.5 per cent goes for development of national highways under the NHDP, 12.5 per cent goes for construction of railway crossings and road over bridges, and the remaining 30 per cent goes to state governments for upgradation of state roads.

Allocation from the CRF has been to the tune of Rs 1192 crore and Rs 5590 crore during 1999-2000 and 2000-01 and is expected to be around Rs 5962 crore the current fiscal.