New Delhi:A Parliamentary panel on Urban Development has asked the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to accelerate steps for the speedy completion of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) scheme.
The panel has also asked the Ministry to peruse the states which are performing poorly as far as lower utilisation of funds is concerned.
The committee has found that states like Karnataka and Kerala are lagging behind whereas Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu are performing well as far as utilisation of central funds under SBM (U) are concerned.
Officials from MoHUA informed the panel that the Ministry has been raising regularly the issue of lower utilisation of funds with the concerned states and UTs which are lagging behind by holding regular video conferencing, communicating through letters and emails and also through telephone calls as well as guiding them to increase their fund utilisation.
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"As a result of the same many states and UTs have responded well and some are still lagging behind when compared with other states and UTs," the Ministry has informed the panel.
It further said that due to prevailing conditions of COVID-19 pandemic, the progress of some states and UTs may get affected. "But despite all hardships under the circumstances, MoHUA will ensure to keep the momentum of SBM (U) and make further progress," the Ministry said.
The committee's examination has revealed that a sum of Rs 2,300 crore has been proposed for BE (2020-21) as against lower actual of Rs 1,020.02 and RE of Rs 1300 crore during 2019-20.
The committee has found that during 2019-20, the BE of Rs 2,650 crore was brought down to Rs 1,300 crore on the ground that solid waste management projects were capital intensive with a completion time of one to three years and as such funds released for Solid Waste Management (SWM) component during 2017-18 and 2018-19 were mostly the first instalment against which subsequent demand have not been received from the states and UTs resulting in lowering of funds at RE (2019-20) and the same may be received during 2020-21.
The committee has also found that on date a total cumulative grant released is Rs 10,198.48 crore for which Utilisation Certificate (UCs) are done only up to March 2018, i.e. approximately Rs 6,337 crore as against Rs 7,307 crore were received which includes some UCs which will be done in 2020-21.
The committee has recommended that special drive be opened for persuading the slow-moving states to accelerate their improvement.
It may be mentioned here that SBM (U) was launched in 2014 to make urban India free from open defecation.
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