States fail to utilise crores meant for urban poor under JNNURM schemes

The housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry has said 25 states and Union Territories covered under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme have utilised less than 50 per cent of funds allocated to them. In her reply to Parliament,housing minister Kumari Selja on Tuesday said the government has issued advisories to all states to draw up action plans and “expedite the commissioning/ implementation of projects”. States have also been told to submit plans for cancellations of projects by March 31.

The BSUP scheme,a sub-mission of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December 2005,to improve conditions for urban slum dwellers in 63 identified mission cities in 31 states and UTs. For the seven-year period (2005-12),the government had sanctioned 479 projects for over 10 lakh dwelling units at an approved cost of Rs 27,813.58 crore under BSUP. Similarly,of the 33 states and UTs covered under JNNURM sub-mission Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHDSP),21 have utilised less than 50 per cent of allocated funds. With Rs 9,957.72 crore to be disbursed under the IHDSP for 977 projects to build over 5 lakh dwelling units in the 2005-12 period,the government had Rs 37,771.30 crore for the two schemes under JNNURM. Selja told Parliament that while utilisation of funds under the schemes has been satisfactory,“the progress is uneven” between states and UTs. The minister,enumerating the reasons for under-utilisation of funds,said it was due to non-furnishing of project proposals for sanctioning; slow progress of projects due to procedural problems; lack of availability of litigation-free land; lack of capacity of local bodies to implement projects; and lack of additional financial resources to meet cost escalation.

The worst performing state under BSUP is Punjab,which utilised just Rs 26.4 crore of the allocated Rs 444.46 crore as on February 18 this year from December 2005,a mere 6 per cent,government data showed. However,according to data released by the Planning Commission in 2007,Goa utilised 10 per cent of its allocated funds,Rs 1.15 crore of Rs 11.43 crore,in the same period. Other states that have performed poorly are Bihar,Delhi and Himachal Pradesh,which used 15 per cent of their allocated funds. States that utilised over 50 per cent of allocated funds under BSUP include Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat,Haryana,Kerala,Nagaland and Sikkim.

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All UTs under-utilised funds allocated under the IHDSP. While Chandigarh and Lakshadweep didn’t utilise a paisa of the Rs 20.56 crore and Rs 21.03 crore allocated to them respectively,Daman and Diu utilised 1 per cent (Rs 0.29 crore of Rs 21.97 crore) and Dadra & Nagar Haveli just 8 per cent (Rs 1.68 crore of Rs 20.56 crore). Among states,Punjab was once again the worst performer,utilising Rs 16.89 crore of Rs 172.56 crore allocated,just 10 per cent.

A technical group constituted by the ministry had estimated a shortage of 2.47 crore urban housing units at the end of the 10th Five Year Plan (2007-08).