Rs 779 crore still unspent; Ministry of DoNER asked Dispur to reply

GUWAHATI: The Ministry of DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) and also the Ministry of Finance (MoF) are worried that the Assam government has not been spending funds on time. The situation has come to such a pass that the MoF has taken an 'adverse note' for such underutilization of funds by the State.

In its recent letter to the State government, DoNER pointed out that the State is yet to spend Rs 779 crore released by it for various projects. The Union ministry has asked Dispur to reply as to why it has failed to use the funds on time. It has also asked the State government to ensure maximum utilization of the unspent funds.

The letter added that the Ministry of Finance had seriously viewed the non-utilization of funds and non-submission of Utilization Certificates (UCs) by the State. "While considering the Budget proposal of the Ministry of DoNER for the current financial year, the Ministry of Finance has taken an adverse note of the huge amount of unspent funds and overdue UCs," the DoNER said, and added, "This has made us face difficulty in enhancing the Budgetary allocation for the current fiscal."

Underutilization of project funds is a reality in Assam. For instance, Rs 48.73 crore of the Dibrugarh-based 'Multi-Discipline Sports Complex' (taken up in 2017) has not been spent as yet. Likewise, Rs 8.57 crore of the drainage improvement project of 2014 – also in Dibrugarh – has also remained unspent. Similarly, Rs 12.90 crore of the 'Tinsukia Water Supply Scheme' (undertaken in 2013) is still unspent.

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance, after the release of funds by the Centre, the States should submit the UCs within 12 months. However, this is not happening in Assam. The State is yet to submit the UCs of Rs 329 crore against DoNER projects alone; and such lapses are set to create hurdles for the State to get subsequent installments.

There are cases of the State government not releasing funds to the implementing agencies even after the release of funds by the Centre.

Finance Ministry's rule states that after the release of funds by the Centre, the State governments should release them to the implementing agencies within 30 days for the speedy implementation of those projects.

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