The Minister for Planning, Ajay Sadhotra informed the House that an amount of Rs. 754.88 crore was provided by the State Planning Department for the implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the State during last financial year and against which Rs. 688.82 crore have been spent by the end of March 2013.Replying to a question by Mr. M. Y. Tarigami in Legislative Assembly here today, the Minister said that the funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) do not lapse adding that un spent balances at the end of the financial year are revalidated by the concerned departments in the following years for their utilization.The Minister informed that at the end of 2012-13 out of the total availability of Central share of Rs. 4703.31 crore, an amount of Rs. 1150.55 crore has remained un-utilized under different Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). He said the same are now being utilized by the departments in the current year after its revalidation.
Mr. Sadhotra said that the decisions taken in the District Development Board meetings are implemented promptly as far as possible. He however, said the decisions involving policy matters and having huge financial implications are critically examined by the concerned administrative departments and if found technically feasible are implemented in a phased manner subject to availability of resources. The Planning Minister said that the developmental works in the State particularly in respect of CSS have not been hampered for want of matching state share. He said while conveying authorization of the annual plans, the departments are advised to earmark the State share out of their allocations for the projects to be taken up under NABARD as per the norms / guidelines of the schemes adding that similarly, matching state share as per the funding pattern is being released in respect of various flagship programmes / CSS.Supplementaries were also raised by Mr. Harshdev Singh, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti Mr. G. M. Saroori, Ch. Zulafkar Ali, and Peer Mansoor.