Another Rs.8000 crore was allocated for the drinking water scheme, only Rs.3362 crore is spent, only 42 per cent of the allocated amount. Similarly, even in the case of one of the most imperative programmes, irrigation benefit programme, Rs.9700 crore was allocated but only Rs.3689 crore was actually invested, again 68 per cent of the fund remained underutilised. Even the Gramin VidyutiKaran Yojana is grossly underutilised by 42.8 per cent. More interestingly, the most hyped and popular programme, UPA led NREGA program which was intended to sort out the major problem of unemployment in rural India is 43 per cent underutilised. Surprisingly, a total of Rs.39100 crore was allocated for this scheme during the fiscal year 2009-10 where only Rs.22295 crore is actually spent. There is only one project where actual spending has crossed the allocation. The PM Gram Sadak Yojana, while Rs.12000 crore had been allocated for this, around Rs.13045 crore is spent, making 108.7 per cent of the allocation. About 40 per cent of funds allocated for flagship programmes, remain unused every year, which if used properly can bring a major infrastructural and social shift.
It is not just about underutilisation of funds that is haunting the nation; widespread corruption is also making such projects ineffective. There is poor transparency and no accountability as to how money is allocated and actually spent. More shockingly, government is also not too serious about this. In a post budget interaction, when we asked Manish Tewari, spokesperson of All India Congress Committee who was proud of the fact that his party stands for the common man because they hiked the Kerosene price by only 90 paise, whether he has taken adequate initiatives to stop Kerosene leakages to ensure the subsidy to reach to the poor, his reply was “The issue is not a part of the budget.” This clearly shows how the Indian polity is committed to the national cause. But can we afford it?
It is not just about underutilisation of funds that is haunting the nation; widespread corruption is also making such projects ineffective. There is poor transparency and no accountability as to how money is allocated and actually spent. More shockingly, government is also not too serious about this. In a post budget interaction, when we asked Manish Tewari, spokesperson of All India Congress Committee who was proud of the fact that his party stands for the common man because they hiked the Kerosene price by only 90 paise, whether he has taken adequate initiatives to stop Kerosene leakages to ensure the subsidy to reach to the poor, his reply was “The issue is not a part of the budget.” This clearly shows how the Indian polity is committed to the national cause. But can we afford it?
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