This was seen mainly in beneficiary-based schemes whereby districts with a larger population get a larger share of scheme funds and in major infrastructure projects, said report of a committee constituted by Manipur government on August 25, 2021
TFM Report
The committee set up by the Government of Manipur to examine developmental fund flow to the hill districts of the state in the last ten years released its findings on Thursday and submitted the report to the state government.
The seven-member committee headed by the additional chief secretary (TA & Hills), examined the fund released to all the hill districts in the last ten years, starting from the financial year 2011-12.
The committee studied the hill expenditure as per departments’ reports against the total developmental expenditure as per budget figures. The average hill expenditure against the total stood at 37.82 per cent.
As per the report, the last two financial years saw an increase in expenditure. The committee noted that some major departments like PWD, TA & Hills, Rural Development, Planning, PHED, etc were responsible for the increase.
It was also observed that implementation of a few major projects leads to skewed fund distribution between hill and valley districts, and between the different hill districts. This was seen mainly in beneficiary-based schemes whereby districts with a larger population get a larger share of scheme funds and in major infrastructure projects. The committee, therefore, noted that fund distribution between the different hill districts need to be streamlined.
Addressing media persons at the Old Secretariat Conference Hall, Imphal, special secretary (minor irrigation), W Arthur maintained that the committee faced challenges in identifying the clear definition of “developmental expenditure”. However, the committee made all efforts to present a “clear picture” of the developmental fund flow to all the hill districts in the last ten years, he added.
The committee also observed that considering the large volume of data collected and the large number of departments involved in this exercise and other challenges, a certain degree of error is inevitable, despite extreme care taken to give an accurate picture. This must be taken into consideration while drawing conclusions from the figures given in this report, he added.
The committee also made some recommendations, based on the observations made during the preparation of the report:
- To move away from the hill-valley fund allocation system in the budget, to that of a tribal sub-plan as this will help in monitoring fund allocation and expenditure in a better way.
- For better allocation of funds for the tribal sub-plan and also among different districts, the state government to consider adopting a formula along similar lines to that of the finance commissions (both Central and State).
- Creating an institutionalised administrative mechanism to monitor the fund allocation and expenditure.
It may be mentioned that the row over the quantum of funds spent for the development of the hill areas of the state gained traction after it was debated in the Assembly session in August, 2021. Following which, the state government constituted a committee on August 25, 2021 to examine the funds released to the hill districts of the state.