By Express News Service
DEHRADUN: With elections due next year and the model code of conduct just around the corner, the government has identified at least 22 departments that have been able to use less than 40% of their funds allocated under the budget until October this year.
The departments include irrigation, PWD, power, youth welfare, agriculture, panchayati raj, disaster management and others. Senior officials from the state government have issued instructions to utilize the budgeted allocation.
“The fund under-utilization came out in a review meeting of the state government departments conducted by the SS Sandhu, the state’s Chief Secretary. He has instructed these departments to improvise their performance,” said a senior government official who was present in the meeting.
The worst performer was the backwards welfare department with only 0.97% utilization followed by power with 1.96%, housing (3.64%), civil aviation (5.19%), industries (13.56%), IT (16.62%), youth welfare (20.22%), small irrigation (20.77%), rural development (21.57%), tourism (22.44%) and agriculture (23.81%).
These figures are none too impressive for the political leadership going into the election mode with stress on ‘maximum governance,’ said officials.“The ministers have bene instructed to appoint nodal officers for the schemes which are directly funded by the Centre to deliver results,” said a state government official.
Meanwhile, the BJP campaign has made a shift towards pitching development and infrastructure rather than Hindutva and nationalism. On December 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 45-minute-plus address to a public rally in Dehradun highlighted the development pitch, which included infrastructure and welfare projects undertaken recently in the hill state.
