Northeast Desk, 13th April: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has raised concerns over the utilization of allocated budgets in the North East by the Modi government, highlighting a consistent pattern of underutilization.
Ramesh pointed out that despite large budgets being earmarked for the region, the actual expenditure has been inconsistent. He noted that since 2014, the full budget for the North East has only been utilized twice, contrasting with the UPA government’s track record of consistently utilizing around 90% of the budget.
Citing examples, Ramesh highlighted that for the fiscal year 2023, a budget of Rs. 2755 crores was allocated, but only Rs. 989 crores (35.9%) was utilized, as per a report from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in June 2023.
He further emphasized low fund utilization in specific schemes, such as the North East Road Sector Development Scheme and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme, where only 52% and 34% of funds were utilized, respectively, in 2020-21.
Ramesh also criticized the utilization of funds under the PM-DevINE scheme, which boasts a Rs. 6,600 crores outlay for the period from 2022-23 to 2025-26. He pointed out that only over 10% of funds (Rs. 855.85 crores) have been sanctioned so far.
Additionally, despite doubling the budget for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region ahead of elections in Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura in January 2023, Ramesh highlighted a potential discrepancy between announced allocations and actual fund disbursement, raising questions about the effectiveness of the government’s policies towards the North East.
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