Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Curbs on funds hit panchayat schemes

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 31. The restrictions imposed by the Government on local bodies against carrying over the unspent funds allotted for a month has affected the functioning of the District Panchayat.

While clamping restrictions, the Government had not taken any initiative to release the allocated funds on time, sources said.

The monthly allocation for the panchayat is Rs. 1.32 crores and the annual allocation Rs. 15.84 crores. Directives were issued to the panchayat that the funds should be spent in 14 instalments and not in 12 equal instalments. Hence the panchayat is eligible to draw only Rs. 1.14 crores a month. A sum of Rs. 5.28 crores for April, May, June and July was credited in the panchayat's account only on July 23.

Existing norms

As per the existing norms, the panchayat has lost the funds allotted for three months and is now eligible to draw only Rs. 1.14 crores, the allocation for July. Bills issued by the panchayat for various projects worth Rs. 3.25 crores are pending. The panchayat also has to repay a sum of Rs. 1.07 crores as the first instalment of the loan for implementing the Thanal housing scheme. The restrictions had been imposed by the Finance Department and the Local Administration Department had not taken any action to release the funds on time, sources said.

Since the personal deposit account system had been scrapped and the bill system introduced in its place from April last, the local bodies had to submit bills to the treasury for getting payments for the projects taken up under the Kerala Development Plan. The unannounced ban on treasury payments and the financial crisis faced by the Government often delayed the allotment of funds and many projects taken up by the panchayat could not be completed, sources said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Entertainment |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Curbs on funds hit panchayat schemes
• Student's suicide: police file FIR
• Life sentence for killing wife
• Electrical gadgets gutted
• Water supply restored
• Around the City
• In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu