Assam: Only 33 percent of DoNER funds utilized in 2023-24

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Of the total budgeted amount for the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) for the financial year 2023-24, only 33.55% could be utilized. Funds for DoNER are provided by the government of India for infrastructure development-related schemes and other expenses.

The funds for infrastructure development are provided by DoNER, and the projects are implemented by state governments of the NE region and other agencies.

The budget estimates for 2023–24 were Rs 5892 crore. Of this, an amount of Rs 1976.76 crore was utilized, i.e., 33.55% of the total amount.

DoNER provides funds for the NE states under several schemes like the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme—Other Than Roads Infrastructure (NESIDS-OTRI), NESIDS-Roads, Prime Ministers Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE), and special development packages. Only Assam in the NE region receives funds under Special Development Packages. 

The budget under NESIDS-OTRI of DoNER for 2023-24 was Rs 1389.94 crore. However, only Rs 528.07 crore of this fund was utilized. Thus, only 37.99% of the fund was used up. Under NESIDS-Roads, the total budgeted amount was Rs 1100 crore. Of this, only Rs 512.18 crore, or 46.56%, was put to use.

Similarly, the utilization under PM-DevINE and Special Development Packages was poor. For PM-DevINE, the budget estimate was Rs 2174.46 crore, out of which an amount of Rs 10.56 crore was used for the intended purpose. So, the NE states could utilize only 0.49% of the budget under PM-DevINE. DoNER has sanctioned a total of 31 projects for the NE states till now, including four for Assam.

For Special Development Packages, funds are provided to three sixth schedule councils in Assam—Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), and North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC)—for infrastructure development.

The budget under Special Development Packages of DoNER was Rs 300 crore. Of this, only Rs 46.46 crore was utilized. The rate of utilization of funds is only 15.49%.

From the above, it is clear that the NE states have not been able to properly utilize the funds provided by DoNER. In fact, not even 50% of the budget estimates could be used up, which is a cause for concern, and more concerted efforts are needed to better utilize the resources and speed up the development of infrastructure in the NE region.

 Also Read: Assam: DoNER seeks Pending Utilisation Certificates for Projects under NESIDS-OTRI Scheme (sentinelassam.com)

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