LAPSING of the funds has now become a feature of our state functioning. At the beginning of every year, the state finance ministry makes hectic efforts to get bulk plan size. The entire exercise of haggling for huge plan, however, loses its rationale when a major portion of it gets lapsed at the end of the year. The question is, do getting the handsome plan sizes per se serves the cause of the state economy, when a major portion of these funds are reverted back to the centre at the end of the year? There are apparently a number of sound and genuine reasons that prevent the state departments from utilizing the allocated funds in full during the plan period. The delay in the release of the funds, for example, is one major reason which inhibits their utilization within set timeframe. Similarly, more often than not most of the funds are released at the fag end of the year leaving the state departments with little time to fulfill statutory procedures for their spending. The weather vagaries and short working period are another reason coming in the way of utilization of funds. Amid this situation there has been a genuine demand from the civil society in Kashmir for creation of a ‘non-lapsable fund account’. Of course, the mechanism would not be totally a new thing. The centre has already created a dedicated non-lapsable fund to expedite development of rail network in the North Eastern region of the country. Taking a cue from it, the J&K finance ministry should take up the issue with the centre seriously ahead of the presentation of the union budget. To begin with, the state can press the centre for creating a Non-lapsable State or Central Pool of Resources for funding of specific projects in J&K. At the end of every financial year, the unspent funds by all the state/centre ministries can be transferred to this pool for their subsequent utilization in the next year. Such a mechanism will surely prove a critical support to the implementation of projects in the state.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 IST