BENGALURU: Drastic reduction in allocation of funds by the Central government to the state for drinking water projects has burdened the state exchequer, according to Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. While the Centre had to bear 50% of the project costs, the funds sanctioned by it are enough to cover only 10% of the cost, he said.
The Centre’s allocation for drinking water projects has reduced from Rs 805 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 270 crore in 2017-18. As a result, the state government is forced to increase funds for such projects. Spending by the state has increased from Rs 950 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 2,342 crore for the current financial year, burdening the state exchequer, he said. This has delayed the implementation of several drinking water projects, he added.
To a question about corruption in installing drinking water kiosks and many of them being defunct, he said the department will soon have an online mechanism to monitor such kiosks.
It will help know the exact quantity of water discharged from kiosks on a day-to-day basis and also alert about defunct kiosks. He said the Centre is yet to release Rs 1,050 crore to the state for the additional works taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. “We have been requesting the Centre repeatedly to release the funds. However, the Centre has not released it,” he added.