Idle funds make mockery of PM’s flagship schemes

What use are flagship programmes that are launched one after another by Prime Minister Modi, when funds are hardly utilised?

Shame on promises betrayed, says a Parliamentary committee on fund utilisation, expressing its displeasure over the Central funds not being utilised, despite these schemes carrying PM Modi's imprint. The strictures pertain specifically to the Union Urban Affairs and Housing Ministry, earlier manned by M Venkaiah Naidu and now by bureaucrat-turned Hardeep Singh Puri.

The panel has asked the ministry to get its act together and identify problem

areas leading to slack implementation. The six flagship programmes are: Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, AMRUT, HRIDAY, smart cities mission and National Urban Livelihood Mission. "The committee is constrained to observe that the ministry is giving the usual excuses of procedural delays in accounting for funds spent in case of the prestigious flagship schemes, but the reality is that enough thought has not gone into the promises given to the people," the report said.

It regretted that the utilisation certificates have come for just Rs 15,403 crore, as against the total cumulative grants of Rs 46,663 crore released to the ministry for the six mega projects. The committee report shows the big gap between the funds allotted and released and their utilisation. The committee wondered how the government will meet its targets if the funds are allowed to lie idle.