Non-utilisation of funds cost IPH Dept Rs 147 cr

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 19

The Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department was deprived of Central funds, amounting to Rs 146.71 crore, following non-utilisation and diversion of funds during 2009-14. Also, the department failed to transfer functions of operation and maintenance of water supply schemes to Village Water Supply Committees (VWSC), as envisaged under the National Rural Drinking Water programme.

These inadequacies were pointed out in the implementation of the programme by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report for 2013-14. The report said, “Against the approved allocation of Rs 1,715.49 crore, which included Central and state share of Rs 843.73 crore and Rs 871.76 crore, respectively, the actual allocation of funds by GoI and the state was Rs 756.31 crore and Rs 797.29 crore, resulting in shortage of Rs 161.89 crore (GoI Rs 87.42 crore and state government Rs 47.47 crore) due to non utilisation/ diversion of funds”.

Further, against availability of Central funds amounting Rs 766.44 crore during 2009-14, the department incurred expenditure of Rs 745.65 crore and funds ranging from Rs 11.50 crore to Rs 82.17 crore for different schemes remained unutilised. The state government released Rs 727.29 crore through budgetary provision during this period but no funds were specifically allotted under the programme and the matching funds were not accounted for.

Against the state share of Rs 283.04 crore, required to be allocated, only Rs 32.98 crore (12 per cent) was discharged to executive engineers and thus, in contravention of programme guidelines, the required state share of Rs 250.06 crore was not incurred.

The programme guidelines provided for 10 per cent weightage in allocation of funds to state for management, maintenance and operation of rural drinking water supply schemes (RDWSS) by gram panchayats and rural population to bring reforms but the CAG noticed that the state government did not avail the incentives of Rs 59.27 crore.

Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) were to be set up as standing committees in all 3,243 gram panchayats for planning, monitoring, implementation, maintenance and operation of schemes but only 972 committees were formed and even these did not perform the envisaged activities.

The state also failed to achieve the target to cover all rural habitations with adequate safe drinking water by 2012 and the target remained unfulfilled till August 2014. Out of 509 water supply schemes, stipulated during 2009-14, 197 schemes on which expenditure of Rs 88.46 was undertaken, were lying incomplete till August 2014.