Punjab govt fails to utilise Rs 35 crore central funds in agriculture: RTI

Amid Punjab government's ongoing tussle with the Centre over release of central funds, it has been revealed that around Rs 35 crore was returned for non utilisation by state agriculture department.

Bathinda: Days after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution over the Centre withholding over Rs 3,600 crore Rural Development Fund (RFD), the Bhagwant Mann government has come under the scanner for failure to utilise funds in agriculture.

RTI activist Rajandeep Singh had filed a query to the state Agriculture Department under the Right to Information Act. He had sought information about the utilisation of funds in the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme that the Centre had given to Punjab. The department's response has revealed that Rs 164.93 crore of CRM funds were sent to the eight districts namely Barnala, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda and Fazilka. Of which, only Rs 129.75 crore could be utilised.

According to the the district-wise utilisation CRM funds in Punjab, Rs 13.51 crore was sent to Barnala district, out of which Rs 9.67 crore was spent. Similarly, in Sangrur, Rs 39.45 crore was sent but Rs 31.68 crore was used. Rs 38.21 crore were sent to Ferozepur out of which, Rs 34.88 crore was utilised. In Jalandhar, Rs 11.96 crore out of 17.05 crore was utilised. Next, Hoshiarpur was given Rs 11.92 crore out of which Rs 5.26 crore rupees was utilised while Rs 4.54 crore out of Rs 06.92 crore was utised by Fatehgarh Sahib district. Again, Rs 16.86 crore out of Rs 18.36 crore was spent in Fazilka, Rs 14.90 crore out of Rs 19.51 crore was utilised in Bathinda district

This has raised questions as to why Rs 165 crore sent for crop maintenance not spent following which, Rs 35 crore went back to the central government. "Why could not the Aam Aadmi Party government arrange for the maintenance of stubble for the interests of farmers? Earlier, the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal kept saying that Punjab was responsible for pollution in Delhi. But, now the Punjab government has not fully utilised funds sent from the Centre," Singh said.

At a time when the state has failed to utilise central funds, it is unjustified for it to press for RFD funds, he said. It is to be mentioned here that farmers have been constantly burning stubble for the past several years. In 2021, 7,648 cases of stubble burning were reported and in 2022, the figure rose to 10,214. If the funds sent by the central government could be utilised properly then these cases could have been reduced, he said.