Ummid Assistant

Applications open for Manmohan scholarship at Cambridge

Opportunities for Indian students in US

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » Regional

Akhilesh government: Poor record in fund utilisation

Saturday March 09, 2013 02:38:11 PM, Mohit Dubey, IANS

Lucknow: The bonhomie between the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government notwithstanding, the two seem headed for a confrontation. This, as the UP government has failed to spend large amounts of the budget of central government-aided schemes and projects as the financial year draws to a close.

Senior officials told IANS that in most schemes, including the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, and MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna (for better road connectivity in rural areas) and the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Akhilesh Yadav government had "abjectly failed to utilise funds."

The situation, officials point out, had come to such a pass that MGNREGS was headed to a grinding halt in the state.

Officials admit that with the large amounts - about 57 percent - of central funds under various scheme heads still unspent, utilisation certificates of the same will not be submitted; that could lead to stalling of further funds in the current financial year 2013-14.

"Political leaders of the two ruling parties can only thrash out things, or else it's a very gloomy picture," admitted a senior bureaucrat.

As a result of the delay in spending the funds, development work and schemes have suffered in a big way in Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal, priority areas for both the state and union governments.

Rs.7,003 crore (over Rs.70 billion) has been allocated to Uttar Pradesh under the rural employment guarantee scheme and the first installment of Rs.1,400 crore was slashed to Rs.1,170 crore as the state had failed to utilise Rs.1,654 crore it was allocated in 2011-2012.

The UP government had requested UPA II to release the remaining Rs.300 crore, but the request has received lukewarm response from the centre, largely due to the non-utilisation of funds previously, an official said.

"We are not sure when the second installment of MGNREGS will come, or even if it will, at all," one official quipped.

In the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (scheme for universal education) too the situation is no different. The state government has only spent 59.77 percent of the Rs.1,150.20 crore allocated to it under this scheme.

The centrally aided scheme to promote education got Uttar Pradesh a whopping Rs.6,110.30 crore for the last financial year, but the state has failed to spend Rs.606.88 crore from the previous year, thus jeopardizing any further release of funds.

In the National Agriculture Development Planning Scheme, the state got a share of Rs.400 crore in its kitty, but has been able to spend only a meagre 37.31 percent in the last nine months.

This scheme, aimed at helping raise pulse production and at helping farmers tide over crisis in excessive rainfall areas, has hence proved to be a dud for the state government.

The situation on the infrastructure front is equally abysmal: the state government has only utilized 8.41 percent of the funds (Rs.674.47 crore) allocated to it under the Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojna. This, despite the fact that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav misses no opportunity to proclaim his government's priority to connect villages with main link roads. The union government allocated Rs.425 crores for UP in the current budget, but with non-utilisation of major funds provided to the state last year, any further release of funds is unlikely.

Though successive governments have projected themselves as harbingers of change and development in the impoverished Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal areas, the central fund under this head is a poor show.

Of the Rs.400 crore given last year, the state government had only spend 27 percent of the funds by November: So much for one year of the Samajwadi Party (SP) government, which came to power with a whopping majority last year, arousing much hope.



(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)


 






 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

More Headlines

'China to be more active in international affairs'

Fire at Maharashtra government headquarters in Mumbai

US honours "Nirbhaya - brave heart, fearless"

Owaisi bats for DRDO scientist, questions salary to Col Prohit

Little known Bengali women get bravery awards

Register FIR against Maneka Gandhi, court tells police

Education key instrument for Muslim women’s empowerment: Rahman Khan

Clashes in Kashmir continue unabated, over 227 injured

PIL against Raj Thackeray, Ajit Pawar for recent public spat

Surrogacy gaining acceptance in India

 

Top Stories

Framing Innocents

Activists, NGOs support Katju's call to reinstate DRDO scientist

Over a dozen NGOs and activists in a joint statement issued Friday extended their support to the call given by Press Council of India (PCI)   »

Owaisi bats for DRDO scientist, questions salary to Col Prohit

Apologize and reinstate DRDO scientist: Katju asks govt.

 

  Most Read

PM attacks BJP, says 'men of envy' disparage everything

Expressing confidence that growth would bounce back to 7-8 percent, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday that  »

Aggressive Manmohan Singh says UPA did better than NDA

Delhi Rape Victim

US honours "Nirbhaya - brave heart, fearless"

Nirbhaya, the "Fearless" Delhi gang rape victim, has been honoured with a US "woman of courage" award posthumously for "inspiring people to work together to end violence against women in India and around the world." US first lady Michelle Obama joined  »

 

  News Pick

International Women's Day

Our world, Our story

Often people ask, what use March 8 or May 1? International Women’s Day or Labour Day? How is it relevant when women are seen and heard everywhere and we’d like to believe that late 19th and early 20th century tales of  »

PIL against Raj Thackeray, Ajit Pawar for recent public spat

The Bombay High Court Friday admitted a PIL demanding action against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for their recent verbal spat which led to clashes between  »

False Terror Alert

Man held for misleading Hyderabad police on another terror attack

Hyderabad police have arrested a man, who fabricated certain documents to make them believe that there is likelihood of another terrorist attack in the city. Police have arrested P. Vivek for misleading the police. A case under IT Act was booked  »

Tamil Rights

PM flays Sri Lanka, mum on Geneva meet

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday launched a veiled attack on Sri Lanka, saying Tamils there must get "dignity and self respect", but kept mum on the   »

Due weight to MPs views on Sri Lankan vote, assures Khurshid

Go to Sri Lanka as Hanuman, Khurshid tells Lalu

 

Picture of the Day

Paratroopers in formation of Akashganga during the Indian Air Force Fire Power demonstration Exercise 'Iron Fist 2013' at Pokharan, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on February 22, 2013.

 

Recommend the story to your friends

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

The Funny Side

Education & Career

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.