The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Lack of funds hampers project implementation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 01, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Lack of funds hampers project implementation

Staff Reporter

Completion of several projects affected

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Paucity of funds has thrown a spanner in the implementation of Kerala Development Plan projects being taken up by the district, block and grama panchayats.

Welfare schemes, including disbursal of pensions, providing protein-rich diet to the children in anganwadis and repayment of interest of the loans availed of by the local bodies institutions and completion of spillover works have all been affected.

According to the district panchayat president Sasikala Sivasankar, out of the Rs.15.92 crore sanctioned to take up Plan projects, Rs. 6.10 crore was the loan from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Rs.7 crore for SC/ST welfare. The loan amount can be utilised only for public works according to the norms laid by Nabard and cannot be diverted for any other purpose.

The projects to be implemented using the loan should be cleared by the District Planning Committee, State Planning Board and then by the Nabard regional office. There are instances in which the regional office had to seek clarification from the bank headquarters in Mumbai and hence implementation of the projects is delayed almost by a year. It is true of the funds apportioned for SC/ST welfare. It cannot be utilised for any other purpose.

Not sanctioned

The Government has not sanctioned the last two instalments worth Rs.3 crore due to the panchayat. Hence many projects including the total sanitation project are likely to come to a halt in the district, she said.

"The district panchayat has spillover works alone to the tune of Rs. 4 crore. This was mainly due to the erratic manner in which the Government was sanctioning Plan funds to the local bodies institutions. In addition we have a lot of financial commitments including repayment of loan taken for the Thanal housing scheme and funding other welfare projects that are going on in full swing. The Government seems to be unconcerned about the schemes being implemented for women, children, the physically challenged and the elderly. If the Government fails to intervene all these projects would come to a halt," Ms. Sivasankar said.

The repeated requests by the heads of civic bodies to the Government to initiate steps to reduce the loan component to 50 per cent and sanction the rest as Plan funds to give scope for taking up more projects have fallen on deaf ears.

"Time and again we have taken up the issue of reducing the loan and sanctioning more funds with the Government but to no avail. The civic chiefs in the district are at a loss in finding means to take up and complete the projects, she said.

Complaints

Moreover, there are complaints that the Government is repealing the powers delegated to the local bodies institutions under the Panchayati Raj Act. Ms. Sivasankar alleged that the Agriculture Department has issued directions that the district panchayat does not have the right to sell the produce of the coconut palms in the district agricultural farms handed over to them. This is against the spirit of the Panchayati Raj

The civic chiefs are planning to take up these issues with the Government, she said.

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

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section

Lack of funds hampers project implementation

In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Theft: police prepare sketches of suspects

Counterfeit notes: two sentenced

Peroorkada market gets a facelift

Summer school

Opposition leader returns to Maldives

Around the City