Task Force takes district admn to task

Panel warns of curtailing funds if there is no progress on works

Chairman of the Third State Finance Commission Implementation Task Force, A G Kodgi took the district administration to task for ineffective utilisation of funds allotted to the district.

“There has been no sufficient expenditure of funds allotted to the district. If progress of works continues to be poor, sanctions will become lesser,” he said addressing a press meet here on Tuesday.

Under Indira Awaas Yojana, the district administration had a target of building 5,104 houses for the year 2012-13, of which only 70 were complete. Construction of 1,054 houses are under progress, while construction of the remaining 3,458 houses has not yet begin, he said.

Though the district administration had funds to the tune of Rs 38.43 crore for the project for 2012-13, by the end of February 2013, it had spent Rs 18.76 crores -- less than 50 per cent of the alloted amount.

Similar was the case with Basava Vasathi Yojana. Though 32,959 beneficiaries were approved by the Housing Board for the scheme, only 6,229 houses were complete. The number of houses under construction were 13,086, while the construction of 13,644 houses had not even begun.

Kodgi also highlighted the shortcomings in implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). He suggested that focus should be towards ‘asset creation’ under NREGA, rather than spending only on construction work.
Member of the committee, Thimmegowda said that the committee would submit its final report within a month, which would shed light on the shortcomings of the projects and how effectively they could be implemented.

He said that only local bodies like Grama Panchayats had the privilege of collecting taxes. “Taluk panchayat and Zilla Panchayat too should be given the right to impose taxes and generate revenue, which will be among the recommendations,” he said.
The committee has also noted some shortcomings in Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department, which he said had not been addressed for several years.