Uttaranchal slips on plan fund utilisation

It is a problem of plenty for Uttaranchal as central funds of Rs 800 crore out of Rs 2,700 crore allotted to the state remains unutilised and on the verge of lapsing.

According to the state planning commission, various departments of the state could utilise only Rs 1,900 crore out of the total amount of the Rs 2,700 crore plan outlay provided to the state for 2005-06 till January.

Many of the departments had only used 50 to 75 per cent of their plan budget while few among them failed to utilise even a minuscule part of the fund till now, a commission source said.

The information technology department in the state is yet to start using its funds even as the current financial year will soon close.

The department recently issued sanctions to the tune of Rs 42 crore out of Rs 147 crore from its budget after the state government identified it as its thrust area of development, the sources said. The urban development department had also "not touched" its share of the outlay, a commission source said.

A progress report by the commission revealed that the minor irrigation department had only spent Rs 39 crore out of the allocated amount of Rs 137 crore.

The report said that the energy department has made use of only Rs 188 crore out of its Rs 408 crore outlay, the horticulture department has utilised Rs 92 crore out of Rs 119.6 crore, the public works department has spent Rs 349 crore out of Rs 517.23 crore.

Other departments also have large unspent funds, with the tourism department having spent Rs 38.22 crore out of its Rs 62 crore budget, the education department using Rs 224.43 crore out of Rs 339.61 crore and medical and health department spending only Rs 74.22 crore out of Rs 224.44 crore budget.

Similarly in the potable water department only rs 125.60 crore has been spent out of rs 233.42 crore, forest department spending rs 82.54 crore out of Rs 240.56 crore and the transport department only utilising rs 14 crore out of rs 25.24 crore of its plan budget outlay.

The opposition blamed red tapism in bureaucracy for the unutilised funds and accused the government for not adhering to a timetable for release of funds.

However, Information and PWD minister Indira Hridayesh hoped that the entire plan-outlay amount would be used up by the end of this march.

"We will achieve the target before the end of the financial year and will spent more than the outlay sanctioned," she said.

It may be recalled that the uttaranchal annual plan outlay for the current fiscal was pegged at rs 2,700 crore, against the rs 1,865 crore last fiscal.

The uttaranchal's annual plan for the (next fiscal??) has now taken a quantum leap to rs 4,000 crore. The state's per person plan outlay has become rs 4,716.