Over Rs 1100 Cr remain unspent under rural development sector schemes in J-K, says report

Jammu, Dec 13: Over rupees 1100 Cr have remained unspent under various rural development schemes sponsored by Government of India in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir during the current financial year. This has been revealed in a Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj report, which was tabled in the Parliament recently.

The report said that despite District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meetings held regularly in few district of the UT, but the effective utilization of funds under the said scheme didn’t make any impact on ground.

The schemes which have been analyzed by the Parliamentary Panel are Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana -Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deendayal Upadhyay Grameen Kausalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) etc.

Under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, the objective of which is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work, there is unspent balance of Rs 18.93 crore during the Financial Year 2024-25 as on October 23, 2024. Moreover, there is material liability of Rs 42.90 crore as on October 23, 2024.

As far as PMGSY is concerned, the Parliamentary Panel has pointed out Rs 378.72 crore as effective unspent programme fund balance in State Nodal Agency as on October 24, 2024 while as under PMAY-G, which aims to provide a Pucca House with amenities to all eligible households in rural India, the Panel has mentioned unspent balance of Rs 447.37 crore as per Public Financial Management System (PFMS) reports as on October 23, 2024.

Likewise, under DAY-NRLM, a flagship program for promoting poverty reduction through building strong institutions for the poor, particularly women, and enabling these institutions to access a range of financial services, the Standing Committee has underlined the unspent balance of Rs 31.57 crore as on September 30, 2024.

Regarding DDU-GKY, which is a skill training and placement program aimed at improving the quality and employment outcomes of skill development programs in rural areas, the Parliamentary Panel has pointed out unspent balance of Rs 238.98 crore as on October 18, 2024.

About District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee known as DISHA, which is supposed to ensure better coordination among all the concerned in monitoring the progress of major projects aimed at socio-economic transformation at the district level, the Standing Committee has pointed out that such meetings are being held regularly only in few districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the daily excelsior reported.

In 2019-20, only two DISHA meetings were held in J&K while as in 2021-22, 10 meetings of such committees were convened. It was only in 2022-23 that 20 DISHA meetings were convened by the respective Members of the Parliament. During last financial year only eight such meetings were held in J&K, which have 20 districts.

Expressing concern over huge unspent balances under different schemes, the Parliamentary Panel, while making recommendations for all the States and UTs including J&K, said, “unspent funds are not going to help in the development of rural poor people as envisaged by the Government as such appropriate and effective steps should be taken so that unspent balances do not keep piling up regularly for various schemes”, adding “proper and effective implementation of all the development schemes and programmes is imperative for the welfare of poor and marginalized sections of the rural populace across the country”.

Regarding DISHA meetings, the Standing Committee said, “the sole aim of such meetings is overseeing the effective utilization of Government money for the welfare of the common masses and as such these meetings assume paramount importance and a tool of great value in the implementation of various rural schemes”.

“The meetings of DISHA Committees should be held regularly as per the guidelines and also sufficient number of senior level representatives from the concerned department should remain present in these meetings”, the Standing Committee has concluded.