Money for welfare schemes lies unused

CBD BELAPUR: The civic body has failed to spend funds allocated for welfare schemes in the city between 2010 and 2012, a query by a corporator has revealed.

While Rs21.8 crore was sanctioned for various welfare schemes by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) for under-privileged sections and for the woman and child development committee, only Rs3.04 crore has been spent.

The NMMC administration’s reply to a query by corporator Dr Gautami Sonawane revealed the failure of several committees in not spending enough funds on welfare schemes in three years, despite the neces- sary allocations. In fact, Rs19 crore has been left unused by the civic body in the last couple of years.

“It is shocking that the administration has failed to spend money for needy sections despite the general body giving its approval,” said Sonawane.

Further, the civic body disclosed that Rs47,43,000 has been spent on various social welfare schemes for the under-priv- ileged in the fiscal year 2010-11, out of Rs2,34,86,000. In the year 2011-12, the administration spent only Rs53,44,000 of Rs2,10,000 sanctioned in the budget.

The situation was even worse in the case of the women and child development committee. The civic body had spent only Rs1,00,27,000 in 2010-11, out of Rs3,03,67,000. In 2011-12, despite the budget being increased to a whopping Rs 14,40,78,000 a miniscule Rs 1,03, 23,000 has been spent by the committee.

Municipal commissioner Bhaskar Wankhede said the civic body was doing its best to utilise the money. “The civic body does not have a plot of its own. We have initiated steps to get a plot from either MIDC or Cidco for the construction of a municipal facility. It will help us implement our schemes at the earliest as soon as the facility is ready.”