Lok Sabha Question No. 2633 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-19
Subject: Funds for Rural Development Schemes in Assam
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2633 ANSWERED ON 19/12/2023

## FUNDS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES IN

## ASSAM

## 2633. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that only  Rs. 180 crores out of the approved Rs. 1076 crores has been utilized in Assam with only 26 per cent of the works completed for various rural development schemes;
- (b) whether the Government has identified the reasons for the poor performance in Assam and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the steps being taken by the Government to overcome bottlenecks and ensure effective utilization of funds in Assam; and
- (d) whether there is a mechanism to improve the efficiency of the schemes by addressing corruption and bureaucratic lags and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a)  &  (b)          The  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  is  implementing  a number of welfare schemes for rural areas of the country including in the State of Assam viz., Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana  -  Gramin  (PMAY-G),  Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana (PMGSY),  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods Mission  (DAY-NRLM),  Deen  Dayal  Upadhayay  -  Gramin  Kaushalya Yojana  (DDU-GKY),  Rural  Self  Employment  and  Training  Institutes (RSETIs),  National  Social  Assistance  Programme  (NSAP)  .  Further,

Watershed  Development  Component  (WDC)  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for rural development and poverty alleviation.

The Central component of funds under the schemes/ programmes of this Ministry are released to the States/UTs taking into consideration the unspent balance available with them and submission of utilization of funds already granted. The details of the funds  sanctioned/released  to  the  State  of  Assam  and  utilised by  it under  the  various  rural  development  schemes  of  MoRD,  wherever applicable/maintained, during the current year are as under :-

- i.           Under,  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS,  during  the  current  financial year 2023-24 (as on 15.12.2023) an amount of Rs.1,715.86 crore has been released towards wage, material & administrative contingency to the  State  of Assam  and  a  total  number  of  4.77  lakh  works  were completed  in  the  State  during  the  said  period.   Mahatma  Gandhi NREGS is a demand driven scheme.  Hence, no target is fixed under the scheme.
- ii.         Under PMAY-G, target of 19,79,219 houses has been allocated to  the  State  of  Assam  against  which  19,76,305  houses  have  been sanctioned  &  16,94,020  houses  have  been  completed  which  is  more than  85%  of  the  allocated  targets.  A  total  of  Rs.21,962.15  crore  has been released as Central Share to the State of Assam, against which the  State  has  utilized  Rs.24,035.12  crore  (including  State  Share released in 90:10 ratio).
- iii.        Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), allocation to the State of Assam in the current Financial Year is Rs.590.00 Crore. The  expenditure  made  in  the  Assam  State  under  PMGSY  for  current year  till  date  is  Rs.382.00  Crore.  Out  of  sanctioned  road  length  of 32,420 Km in Assam under various verticals of PMGSY, road length of 31,342  (around  97%)  Km  has  been  completed.  Sunset  date  for completion  of  works  under  PMGSY-I  &  II  is  March  2024  whereas  for PMGSY-III works, sunset date if March 2025. As such, performance of PMGSY in the State of Assam is satisfactory.
- iv.         Under DAY-NRLM, during the current financial year, out of the central allocation of Rs.398.43 Crore, the expenditure incurred by the State Government of Assam is Rs.279.09 Crore which is
5. 70.05%.  During this period, against the  target of formation of 18193 SHGs (Self Help Group), 17525 SHGs have been formed so far.
- v.          Under  NSAP  schemes,  Central  Govt.  has  fixed  a  ceiling  of beneficiaries for each State/UT (State Cap). Presently, NSAP schemes cater around 3 crore BPL beneficiaries. Funds are released to States/ UTs as per the State Cap or number of beneficiaries digitized on NSAP portal,  whichever  is  lower.  Details  of  funds  released  and  total  no  of beneficiaries  covered  under  NSAP  schemes  in  During  FY  2023-24, RS.144.90 Crore has been released to the State of Assam and 812099 beneficiaries have been covered (As on 14.12.2023).  Pension schemes of  NSAP  have  already  achieved  100%  saturation  in  all  States/  UTs, including Assam.
- vi.        Under DDU-GKY & RSETIs, no fund has been released during FY 2023-24 so far to Government of Assam.
- vii.        Under  WDC-PMKSY2.0,  a  total  of  31 watershed  projects covering  an  area  of  1.36  lakh  hectare  at  a  total  cost  of  Rs.  310.60 crore have been sanctioned to Assam for implementation of projects from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26. So far, an amount of Rs. 138.30 crore has been released as Central share  to  the  State.  As  per  information available at Public Finance Management System, State has utilized Rs. 120.27 crore (utilization includes both Central share and State share).
9. (c)  & (d): This Ministry is taking up various steps to ensure effective implementation  of  these  schemes  to  ensure  that  benefits  of  these schemes  reached  to  all  poor  people  of the rural areas  of the country.  Some of the major strategies in this regard are:
- I. In order to ensure that the schemes reach closure, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and multi-format system of  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  implementation  of  rural development schemes, including Performance Review Committee Meetings,  District  Development  Co-ordination  and  Monitoring Committee ('DISHA') meetings, National Level Monitors (NLMs), Area  Officers  Schemes,  Common  Review  Mission,  Concurrent Evaluation and Impact Assessment Studies. State specific reviews of States/UTs are also undertaken from time to time.
- II. The schemes of the Rural Development have been brought upon end-to-end transaction based MIS, which enables all the stakeholders to monitor status of schemes in a real time basis. The works are photographed with geo-tags and time stamps. All the data of RD schemes are available on public domain.
- III. In addition to above, the Ministry has arranged for sufficient fund for  completion  of  works  and  further,  bottlenecks  like  forest clearance  that  require  facilitation  with  Ministry  of  Environment and Forests or Banks are also arranged.
- IV. Social Audits are also conducted for some  Schemes  like Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and PMAY-G. Appointment of Ombudsman  is  also  made  for  attending  to  any  grievances regarding  MGNREGA  works.  In  addition,  grievance  redressal  is being given due attention in all schemes of the Rural Development.
- V. States are advised to recruit adequate staff for implementation of the programme. Norms have been laid for staffing. Funds are provided for supporting hiring of manpower and other administrative expenditure. The training and orientation of programme manpower is also arranged from time to time.
- VI. Norms for administrative and technical oversight and audit have been  laid  down.  Mobile  application  for  inspection  viz.  Area Officer App has been developed. Similar apps have been developed  or  are  under  development  in  other  areas  too.  The performance of officials are monitored against them.
- VII. Regular coordination with the State Govt. for preparation of the fund  release  proposals  and  documentation  is  made  and  timely advice is tendered to them in this regard. In cases of delay, the matter is escalated to higher levels for seeking release of funds.
- VIII. Women  networks,  community  based  organisations  and  civil society  organisations  are  mobilised  for  creating  demand  from below for proper implementation of the schemes.
- IX. Information Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns including wall paintings for the wide  dissemination of the schemes are undertaken.
- X. Under  NSAP,  State  Governments  are  encouraged  to  top  up  the assistance provided by the Central Government.
- XI. DAY-NRLM ensures that the poor are provided with the requisite skills  for  managing  their  institutions,  linking  up  with  markets, managing their existing livelihoods, enhancing their credit absorption capacity and credit worthiness, etc. A multi-pronged approach  is  envisaged  for  continuous  capacity  building  of  the targeted families, SHGs, their federations, government functionaries, bankers, NGOs and other key stakeholders. Particular  focus  is  on  developing  and  engaging  community professionals  and  community  resource  persons  for  capacity building  of  SHGs  and  their  federations  and  other  collectives. Extensive use of ICT is being taken to  make  knowledge dissemination and capacity building more effective.
- XII. The financial support is provided to SHGs and their federations in the  form  of  Revolving  Fund  (RF)  and  Community  Investment Support  Fund  (CISF)  to  enable  them  to  take  up  economic activities for income generation.

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