The Jammu and Kashmir government has received less than 10 per cent of the budgetary allocation from the Center under centrally sponsored schemes in the first seven months of the current financial year. According to the Indian Express, till October 27, 25 departments of the union territory received only Rs 1,809 crore, which is less than 10 per cent of the CSS allocation of Rs 18,527 crore for 2021-22. Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are largely funded by the central government but the work of implementing them lies with the states. A part of the expenditure of such schemes is borne by the states.
A dozen of these 25 departments, including Jal Shakti, tasked with implementation of the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission, disaster management, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, power development, civil aviation and information technology, did not receive any money under the CSS till October 27 Was.
A senior official of the Jammu and Kashmir administration told The Sunday Express that the delay in getting the funds could be attributed to the devastating second wave of Covid-19 during April and May. “A lot of it is related to non-functioning of departments in the first quarter of the financial year,” the official said.
Fund release is subject to utility certificate for funds already issued and, for some departments, audit of past expenditure.
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“For centrally sponsored schemes, it also depends on how far you are able to move. There are still five months left in the current financial year. The departments will take over and the expenditure will improve,” Adhikari said.
Officials said spending on these schemes has historically been poor in Jammu and Kashmir. “Unlike previous years, our focus is to complete the projects in 2021-22. This will be visible in the next two quarters,” the official said.
The Sunday Express reported that for centrally sponsored schemes such as NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), where utilization certificates are not an issue, as payments are made through DBT, “then there have been delays.”
As per the budget estimates for 2021-22, the Jal Shakti Department has the highest outlay of Rs 5,477 crore. Despite an allocation of Rs 2,747.17 crore, the J&K government has not been able to withdraw funds from the central government.
It has unspent, outstanding funds of Rs 107 crore which, according to officials, could not be fully utilized in view of the ban on scrapping of tenders.
“This is because of low bidding capacity of local bidders and reluctance of outside agencies to bid for works in J&K,” an official said.
According to the report, sources in the government said that the UT administration has taken measures to address these issues and is expected to use “the outstanding funds by next month and the first installment of the funds received from the Government of India”. Will go
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