The Congress-led State Government claims to be facilitating development in Uttarakhand but the lethargic attitude and inefficiency of various departmental officials continues to thwart the developmental efforts. An example of this can be seen in the execution of works by various departments under the district plan in the Garhwal region. According to official data, an average of 36 per cent of the funds released so far have been utilised by various departments in the seven districts of Garhwal region till November.
A combined sum of Rs467 crore was allocated in the district plans of the seven districts in Garhwal region. Out of this sanctioned Budget, Rs287 crore have been released so far by the district magistrates to the departments concerned. Out of the amount released, about Rs155 crore has been spent so far by the various departments concerned. The sanctioned budget of the district plan has to be spent on developmental works in the financial year 2015-16. However, eight months into this financial year average 36 per cent of the district plan funds released have been utilised for the intended purpose in the districts of Garhwal. The Garhwal commissioner and district magistrate concerned review the work progress in the district plans on a quarterly basis but observers point out that such monitoring appears to be more for meeting an official formality. With less than half the funds released under district plan purported to having been used as intended in eight months, questions are being raised as to how the departments concerned intend to utilise the remaining budget under the district plan in the last three months of this financial year.
According to data secured from official sources, out of the sum of Rs55.69 crore under the district plan of Uttarkashi district, only Rs13.89 crore had been spent up to November. Out of the Rs61.99 crore only Rs19.60 crore have been used in Chamoli district. Similarly, out of Rs66.64 crore a sum of Rs29.96 crore has been spent in Tehri district; out of Rs69.93 crore a sum of Rs21.11 crore has been spent in Dehradun district; Rs26.05 crore has been spent out of Rs84 crore in Pauri district; Rs12.95 crore were spent out of Rs40.71 crore in Rudraprayag district under the district plan.
According to government statistics, Dehradun has spent 33 per cent of its district plan budget in the current financial year while Pauri has spent 31 per cent, Tehri has spent 44.9 per cent while Haridwar district has spent 63 per cent of the district plan budget so far. Observers point out that unless the government takes necessary action against the officials concerned for low expenditure of funds, the lethargic stance and lack of answerability will continue to hamper efficient utilisation of funds on developmental works.