NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Panel raps the Minority Affairs Ministry for its inability to spend its budgetary allocation and also for not spending its funds as per stipulated rules. The Panel said that this attitude could lead to Finance Ministry curtailing its budgetary allocation for next financial year.
The Lok Sabha’s Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment has taken exception to the Minority Affairs Ministry’s irregular pace of expenditure. The Report submitted notes that against the budgetary allocation of Rs. 3712.78 crore for the year 2015-16, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had only spent 42.54 percent of the funds till Feb 29, 2016. And in the month of March alone the Ministry spent the 55 percent of funds.
“As per the Ministry of Finance, the ceiling of 33 percent of expenditure in the last quarter and 15 percent expenditure in the month of March of all financial year has to be observed by all the Ministries,” the Panel directed the Ministry.
The budgetary allocation to the Ministry has been much short of the demanded Rs. 5029.31 crore, but the Committee observed that the Ministry has been unable to spend even the allocated amount and this could lead to curtailment of funds by the Finance Ministry in the next financial year. In 2016-17, the Minority Affairs Ministry had received a hike of Rs. 89 crores.
The Panel also chided the Ministry for not furnishing the data about the number of students who got employment after availing coaching under its Free Coaching and Allied Scheme. The Committee has made the same demand earlier as well and said the “casual” approach towards the Parliamentary Panel and asked it to furnish the data within three months of the tabling of the report.