BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government failed to avail Central assistance of more than `1,100 crore during the last eight years under Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) because of late submission of proposals and utilisation certificates, thereby raising questions on implementation of different schemes in the State.
The State can avail `400 crore from the Centre under the BRGF every year. However, it has failed to get full Central assistance even for a year during the period under review. The State has received only `144.91 crore during 2014-15 out of `400 crore, which is the lowest during the last eight years.
Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Arun Sahu, who reviewed the implementation of the scheme on Saturday, admitted that utilisation of funds by the Government under the scheme is not satisfactory. The Minister said he has requested chairpersons of all District Planning Committees to finalise proposals under the scheme by February, 2015 and submit those to the department so that the State Government can submit proposals in time. Sahu also asked officials to utilise funds in time and submit utilisation certificates.
Planning and Coordination Minister Usha Devi, who also attended the meeting, asked the officials to spend funds properly so that the entire Central assistance can be utilised. The BRGF, meant to eradicate regional imbalance among different regions, is being implemented in 250 districts in the country, including 20 from Odisha.