NEW DELHI: Highlighting the delay in finalising schemes and approvals for implementation, the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs has recommended that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs ministry complete paperwork and guidelines in consultation with stakeholders before annoucing the schemes during the budget presentation.
The panel led by Lok Sabha MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy made the recommendation after it observed a huge time gap between the announcement and actual execution of a few schemes.
In its third report on Demands for Grants (2025-26) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) presented in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the committee noted, “The ministry should conduct consultation with stakeholders and prepare and finalise the Scheme document/guidelines prior to any Budget announcement to avoid allocation and parking of funds for such schemes wherein approvals would spill to subsequent financial years.”
The panel observed that the public bus transport scheme, which was announced in the 2021-22 budget was approved by the government only in August 2023 as PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.
However, the funds under the scheme were-- for the first time-- actually spent during the financial year 2024-25.