NEW DELHI: Following complaints of irregularities in the implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP), the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to appoint an independent monitor for the project, which will also suggest improvement in execution of the programme.
Earlier, the responsibility of monitoring was given to states where BADP was being executed. Although the BADP is a 100 per cent Centrally-funded scheme,the planning and implementation of the programme are the primary responsibility of the state governments.
The MHA, had in recent past, received several complaints regarding irregularities in the implementation of the BADP which it had forwarded to the state governments for appropriate action. Complaints were also received from seven states, including Assam, Bihar, UP, Meghalaya and Punjab, about misappropriation of BADP funds. The independent monitor, which could be a PSU, private company or research organisation, will be given free access to the relevant administrative, technical and financial records by the state government.
The independent monitor will have to travel to remote and inaccessible areas along the International Border to assess the implementation of the programme. It will also be asked to conduct random inspection.
The MHA is implementing the scheme in 391 border blocks of 106 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, UP, Uttarakhand & West Bengal.