Grim picture of central fund utilisation for rural development in Bengal

Kolkata, July 16 (IANS) The latest statistics on central fund utilisation under the 15th Finance Commission for rural development shows West Bengal in poor light.

With just a month remaining for the deadline for utilisation of funds in the previous installment to expire, statistics show that 65 per cent of the money granted under this head is yet to be spent.

As per records, around Rs 3,000 crore had been allotted under this head in the previous installment under the 15th Finance Commission, out of which only around Rs 1,028 crore has been spent till date.

Now, this slow rate of spending under this head has posed uncertainties over the release of the next installment, since as per rules, the next installment is not released unless at least 75 per cent of the funds allotted under the previous installment are utilised.

August 15 this year is the deadline for the same.

Considering the exigency of the situation the state Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department has given a deadline to the three tiers of the panchayat system in the state to expedite the process of spending that amount by floating tenders by July 31.

This means that spending of around Rs 1,700 crore has to be completed by August 15, which the department insiders are admitting is a Herculean task.

That is why departmental insiders said stress is being given on the right choice of projects for which tenders will be floated within the next 15 days.

“The focus will be on those projects whose implementation can be completed at the earliest," said a department officer admitting that in previous instances some lapses in proper project selection were noticed.

Giving the reason behind the dismal picture of spending, departmental insiders pointed out things would have been better had not the requisite work been stalled completely for around three months because of the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.