CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: In a significant fiscal boost ahead of the festive season, Meghalaya Water Resources Minister Metbah Lyngdoh on Thursday announced that the State had received over Rs 51 crore from the Government of India as part of the central share for ongoing water resource projects. Setting a firm tone on accountability, Lyngdoh said the department had been instructed to expedite utilization and immediately release pending dues to contractors to avoid further delays in project execution.
Lyngdoh clarified that the newly released amount was not the final settlement but only a partial payment for works currently underway across the State. “No. I think as a token, as part of Christmas celebrations, we have received a lot of funds from the Government of India, which is the central share, amounting to over Rs 51 crore. Out of this, the State’s share comes to about 10 percent, which is over Rs 5 crore. So we have received this. This is just a part payment of the ongoing projects in the State and not the full and final payment of the entire project. It is basically the part payment that we have received,” he said, adding that the Centre was likely to release further installments once the current tranche was fully utilized.
Emphasizing urgency, the Minister said he had already directed the Water Resources Department to speed up spending and ensure swift disbursal to contractors. “But it appears that the Government of India will definitely release more funds, provided we spend the entire amount that we have received. So I have directed the department that they have to speed up spending and release all the funds to the contractors immediately without any delay. They have already started the process today, and they are on the job. We will ensure that all the money is released to the contractors,” he stated.
On the prolonged delays in fund release by the Centre, Lyngdoh acknowledged the challenges but said the State had consistently pursued the matter. “Well, it is very difficult to say about the delay because every time they have been going, in fact, I had to cover up to September, but prior to that also they had been trying to get the funds from the ministry. However, the ministry could not release the funds for whatever reasons. The discussion they had at that point of time I am not much aware of,” he said.
He noted a renewed push from the Centre to clear pending allocations. “But this time we have seen that the Government of India, as I have said, is keen to release some more funds. We will ensure, as I have said, that we utilize this tranche completely so that we can get the next lot of funds,” he added.
Reiterating the need for consistent follow-up, the Minister said the State would continue pressing for the remaining dues. “The consistency as far as follow-up is concerned, I think that has to be there. We have been doing that, and that is why the funds have also come very fast. We will ensure that this part is followed in the days to come so that the balance funds which we are supposed to receive, we should get, so that the contractors do not suffer, because there is still a good amount of money lying with the Government of India which has to be released,” he said.
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