BABUS SAY DON’T CARRY OVER FUNDS

Officials have differed with TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s proposal to carry forward unspent funds of the SC/ST Sub-Plan.

During a review meeting last month, Mr Rao had said that there should be a provision to carry forward unspent SC/ST Sub-Plan funds to the next year. At present, the unspent funds lapse.

The government allots 15.46 per cent of all Plan spending for the SC Sub-Plan and 9.08 per cent for the ST Sub-Plan, on the basis of population. In the current year, the SC Sub Plan got `10,483 crore and the ST Sub-Plan, `6,171 crore.

Of the total, the government had spent `6,514 crore till the end of the third quarter of the financial year, leaving about `10,000 crore to be spent in the last three months.

Officials said even if `5,000 crore of this is unspent and carried forward, it will add to the fund for next year which may cross `20,000 crore. If this continues to grow, there would be no funds left for the Budget.

A senior IAS officer said that in Karnataka the government was carrying forward the unspent funds for just one year, after which it would lapse. Instead of carrying forward the funds, the government should take strict action if any department does not spend the money, he said.