KOZHIKODE: At a time when the state is facing a grave financial crisis and unable to find funds for infrastructure projects, it is likely to forfeit Central Government funds worth several hundred crores due to the incompletion of projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) before the specified deadline.
With the first phase of the AMRUT scheme set to conclude by March 31, a total of 163 major developmental projects worth around Rs 900 crore are way behind schedule and likely to miss the deadline. The AMRUT State mission management unit has informed the local bodies that if the projects remain unfinished by March 31, the entire financial responsibility to complete the schemes would fall on the civic bodies.
AMRUT had selected projects in nine local bodies in the first phase including 48 sewage and septage schemes, 35 water supply projects, 33 urban transportation schemes, 33 storm water drainage schemes, and 14 green space and park schemes.
As per the data with AMRUT state mission, though five septage treatment plants worth Rs 10.72 crore were planned and sanctioned in the first phase, work has not started even on a single plant. Likewise,a total of 14 major Sewage Treatment Plants(STP) with a total project cost of Rs 352 crore were planned for various local bodies, but only two plants worth Rs 33 crore have been completed so far. Of the unfinished plants, three projects (worth Rs 140.44 crore) are still on the drawing board, while around 50% of work has been completed on six plants (worth Rs 107.55 crore). The remaining plants which are estimated to cost Rs 85.46 crore are in the initial stages of construction and way behind schedule, the data read.
Thiruvananthapuram corporation tops the list with 30 projects which are likely to miss the deadline for completion.
The total cost of the 30 projects in the city is Rs 30 crore. Thrissur corporation and Palakkad municipality have to finish 26 (worth Rs 117 crore) and 27 (Rs 49 crore) projects respectively to avoid lapsing the fund.
AMRUT State mission deputy MD (in- charge) Vijayakumar MK said the local bodies are responsible to complete all the schemes sanctioned under the first phase of the AMRUT scheme before March 31.
As per the Central norms, the funds would lapse on non-completion of projects within the deadline.“Some of the projects can be finished before March 31. Further, We are checking the possibility to include the schemes in the second phase of the scheme to avoid the lapsing of the amount”, the officer added. Meanwhile, LSGD minister MB Rajesh told TNIE’ that the State government is hoping that the Central government will extend the deadline to finish the projects.
“If we don’t get more time to complete the multi-crore schemes, we will also examine the possibility of including the schemes in the second phase of the AMRUT scheme to avoid lapsing the fund”, he added. Since the launch of the first edition of the AMRUT scheme in the 2017-18 fiscal, the Union government had sanctioned a total amount of Rs 1664 crore as its share to the nine local bodies while the Kerala government allocated Rs 1195 crore as a state share. But, local bodies have so far only utilized Rs 857.7 crore from Central allocation and Rs 913 crore from state share.