Karnataka - Raichur   

Delay in release of funds hits projects

By Our Staff Correspondent

RAICHUR, NOV. 24. Developmental works and the calamity relief programme in the district have come to a halt because of a delay in the release of funds by the Government.

For the past four months, the district administration has appealed to the Government to release funds.

Order

Last year, the Government released funds and about 7,000 tonnes of foodgrains to speed up relief work under the food-for-work programme.

The district administration had issued an order to various agencies in the district to lift around 5,000 tonnes of foodgrains and avail themselves of the corresponding grants.

However, only around 3,000 tonnes of foodgrains were lifted by the agencies.

The remaining foodgrains are still available with the Karnataka State Food and Civil Supplies Department.

Shortage of funds

However, only about Rs. 17 lakhs of the cash component was available with the district administration. The funds had to be distributed among the drought-hit Assembly segments in the district to clear dues.

The district administration has expressed its inability to utilise the stock of 4,000 tonnes of foodgrains owing to a lack of matching grants.

For the past four months, the shortage of funds has affected the progress of relief work in the district.

Recently, the Government asked the district administration to release foodgrains directly to the gram panchayats implementing calamity relief work. The district administration opposed this, as it found that most of the gram panchayats had not utilised the foodgrains released earlier.

The administration also found that the gram panchayats had not maintained proper accounts of the utilisation of funds and foodgrains released to them.

However, it proposed to release the available stock of foodgrains to the chief executive officer of the zilla panchayat with instructions to distribute it among gram panchayats according to their requirements.

Proposal submitted

According to official sources, the district administration submitted a proposal to the Government in September, urging it to release Rs. 4.72 crores to implement pending works under calamity relief work, take up repairs of public properties and pay compensation for loss of lives and cattle and damage to houses in the recent floods in the area.

Last month, it submitted another proposal to the Government seeking the release of Rs. 2.02 crores to implement pending works in the six Assembly segments in the district.

Pending

According to the district administration, 11 works in Raichur segment, six in Kalmala segment, two in Manvi segment, 14 (Rs. 10.50 lakhs) in Deodurga segment, 25 in Sindhanoor segment, and 27 in Lingsugur segment were pending.

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