Punjab Nirman: ‘Malwa got the most money,performed worst’

The Punjab Nirman Programme (PNP) was launched by the then Congress state government to improve the living conditions of rural and urban population of the state,by providing funds for the building of basic facilities and infrastructure at the village and town level. PNP was in operation for two years (2005-06 and 2006-07),before being discontinued by the SAD-BJP upon coming to power, and an amount of Rs 1092.76 crore was sanctioned for carrying out various works. The amount allocated to each district was to be in proportion with its population.

The district planning and development boards were to allocate the funds to villages and towns,and devise schemes with the active participation of the elected representatives. Works that were to be undertaken by using PNP funds included provision of paved streets and drains,water supply systems,dharamshalas,school buildings,roads,public toilets,disposal systems,water courses,cremation grounds and streetlights.

The first installment of Rs 137.89 crore was released in February,2006 and the last installment of Rs 141.01 crore in December,2006. The programme was halted in early March,2007,and the funds not withdrawn from treasury up to that date were asked to be deposited back.

The report has concluded that the district-wise allocation of funds was not according to the laid-down criterion of population share.

Muktsar,Nawanshahr,Mansa,Bathinda,Hoshiarpur,Sangrur,Barnala,Patiala and Faridkot got more money than their population share. Of these,Muktsar,Mansa,Bathinda,Faridkot and Kapurthala did not utilise the funds allocated,states the study.

The districts which got less funds than their population share were Ludhiana,Jalandhar,Amritsar,Moga,Tarn Taran and Fatehgarh Sahib. Gurdaspur,Amritsar ,Tarn Taran and Fatehgarh Sahib utilised the funds allocate optimally.

The study further states that districts with higher degree of urbanisation got much less funds than their population share in the state. This reflects a bias in favour of rural areas in the allocation,the study states,adding that no systematic scientific method was used to select the towns and villages under this programme.

It seems an informal procedure was used to select villages and towns for funding by the district planning and development boards,it adds.

The preferences of elected representatives,other influential politicians and individuals seem to have played a major role in selecting villages and towns and schemes for inclusion in PNP funding,it further states.

The overall utilisation of PNP funds for the state as a whole was 81.56 percent,termed “just satisfactory” in the report. Funds released up to September,2006 were utilised more effectively (91.5 per cent),as compared to funds released after September,2006 (53.04 per cent). Funds sanctioned for general schemes were utilised at a higher rate (88.45 per cent) compared to funds sanctioned for special schemes such as water courses,youth club etc (46.49 per cent),adds the study.

The study makes some recommendations for improving the efficiency of such programmes. It states that villages or towns for funding should be identified at least six months before launching the programme. The schemes selected for funding should be made known widely to people of the area,funds should be released in the beginning of the financial year,and sufficient time should be given for implementation of the schemes.