SHILLONG: The North Eastern Council (NEC) has raised concerns over poor utilisation of funds allocated to the Northeast states.
Speaking on the matter, NEC secretary K Moses Chalai said that fund absorption capacity in the Northeast region is not “up to the mark”.
“Unless they move fast, we also cannot move fast, so it is kind of interlinking somewhere but I would like to say that a lot of effort is being put in and some improvement is there,” Chalai said.
NEC secretary K Moses Chalai made this remark while interacting with the media on Thursday (February 08) afternoon.
However, the NEC secretary expressed hope that the situation may improve in the near future.
He said: “For instance, the DoNER used to allocate funds more or less than Rs 3000 crore but this year (with the) Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) scheme, it has come to Rs 6000 crore. Government of India is realising that we can do better.”
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NEC secretary K Moses Chalai, however, refused to name the Northeast state and make any specific comment on the performances there.
“I shouldn’t take names but all the states are not alike. Improvement is happening and the new fund flow system is not through the state treasury (or) state finance department, it goes directly to the vendor,” Chalai said.
He added: “Now it will depend on the concerned department and the vendor how they can quickly execute the work. I would still say yes it is not alike. It is not fair for me to take names – some of them can do better.”
Speaking about Meghalaya, Chalai said: “Some department are responsive, while others tend to drag. I understand the management and monitoring. Meghalaya government has picked up a bit and I believe that they will do better in days to come.”