MUMBAI, July 10: There is something amiss in the State's economy if planned figures of allotment to various rural schemes contrasted with the actual allotments to various rural schemes are anything to go by. A greater cause for concern is that even central funds allotted for a given project have not been devolved fully raising serious doubts on how the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party Government is managing the State's fiscal economy.

The State Government has been publicly vocal in the matter of allotment of funds to rural development projects such as the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and such other heads, often patting themselves over their achievements in these areas. But the cat was let out of the bag when an exasperated and concerned Pune Divisional Commissioner (who has charge of the Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur districts), in a letter to the Principal Secretary of the Planning Department of the State government, dated May 28, 1997, questioned the wisdom of cuts to the tune of 40 per cent in the funds allocated to the District Planning and Development Councils (DPDC). He has said the shortfall is likely to affect all programmes in the rural development areas.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Indian Express, is damning in several respects. For example, against the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party Government's public announcements increasing the fund allocations by as much as Rs 5 to 7 crore to each district, the amounts actually made available to the DPDCs has been far below even the originally sanctioned amounts. In Pune district, for instance, the allocated amount was Rs 66.73 crore in 1997-98. The Ministerial increase in this regard brought it up to Rs 74.73 crore. What was actually made available was merely Rs 46.06 crore leading to a shortfall of more than 40 per cent.

What concerns the collectors of various districts is that in some instances the plan cuts have been as much as 80 per cent, with severe shortfalls even in the State's contribution to centrally-subsidised schemes. For example the Jawahar Rojgar Yojana is funded on a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and the State governments. The Centre had released its share of Rs 63.50 crore for 1997-98. The State had to complement this with its own mandatory contribution of Rs 33.22 crore. Yet, so far, the Government has released only Rs 21.81 lakhs for the purpose, which means even the Central funds released have not been made available in full. It is the same with other schemes.``As a result, implementation of various works under these schemes are likely to prove impossible,'' the collectors say. Added to their worry is (a) the question what happened to the balance of the centrally sanctioned funds, and (b) what is the extent of the State's allocation, if any, in a given project. The question that begs for an answer is whether the State is diverting the funds to some other schemes.

When The Indian Express contacted the State Planning Department, it had precious little to say. The Principal Secretary, Planning Department, B P Mahana, pleading preoccupation said he was unable to comment on the issue. Urged to either confirm or deny that there have been large scale cuts in plan allocations, he said, ``True or false, I am unable to say anything about it.'' When further pressed, he said: ``I refuse to comment on the issue.''

The District Collectors are now worried about a possible fracas with ``people's representatives'' (MPs, MLAs and others who sit in on DPDC meetings) when it becomes obvious that the funds for the various districts will not stretch to all the works that are necessary in the current year - because on the record there have been no plan cuts, only increases.

Digvijay Khanvilkar, Congress MLA from Kolhapur, is outraged about these cuts : his district in the Pune division has had to take the maximum punishment. Kolhapur was awarded Rs 40.68 crore in 1997-98.

A ministerial largesse brought the figure up to Rs 45.38 crore. But what actually came forth was only Rs 29.51 crore. To top it all, the fund allocation for 1998-99 has been even less: Rs 29.59 crore, which amounts to a 73 per cent cut compared to last year.

``Normally funds are always increased by 10 per cent in comparison to the previous year. I would understand if there had been floods, droughts, earthquakes or other natural calamities. But how can they take away these much needed funds in a normal year? This is yet another instance of the government making announcements without any means of follow-up! They are misleading as well as mismanaging the State,'' Khanvilkar told The Indian Express.

The story is repeated with other districts as well, leading officials in the field are to now sue the state government for guidelines. They believe - and have told officials in Mantralaya as much - that whenever such cuts are made in the planning funds, the DPDC should be taken into confidence, just as it is done while allocating the finances. ``We feel that local representatives' participation in this is absolutely essential because they know better the needs and priorities of various districts,'' they have said.

Anticipating a storm at the next meeting of the DPDC, they have asked the State Planning Department for ``guidance'' on how to tackle the expected anger and agitation by the people's representatives when they learn of the 80 per cent plan cuts for 1998-99. Khanvilkar, meanwhile, smirks at the government's inability to deny his charges and says their claims of being able to run the State well are ``hollow''. ``Such fiscal mismanagement is likely to affect roads, water supply, health and other basic services in the State and push development back by decades and they have no right to continue in government,'' he added.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.