PMGSY: Confusion over pending State share triggers uncertainty on balance Central funds

Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Mar 4: Confusion over the pending share of Jammu and Kashmir, to be credited to the State Rural Road Development Agency (SRRDA) for the current financial year, has triggered uncertainty over release of balance Central funds and consequent execution of works here under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
The J&K Government and Ministry of Rural Development Department, Government of India, are making contradictory claims over the pending State share of approximately Rs 25 crores to SRRDA for release of balance Rs 220 crores under PMGSY notwithstanding the current financial year entering into last month of the fourth quarter, official sources told the Excelsior.
“I have been informed that your State has credited only part matching State share in SRDA’s account. As the progress of already sanctioned works and further clearance under PMGSY are dependent on the continued availability of funds, I would request you to look into the matter personally and make required balance provision towards State share and credit the same in SRRDA account during the current financial year,” says an official communication, DO#17017/6/2015/ (FMS-342749, issued last month by J K Mohapatra, Secretary Rural Development Department, GoI and addressed to Chief Secretary of J&K State, B R Sharma.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir Planning Department, in its response to this letter, is learnt to have contradicted the Union Ministry’s claim and intimated that the required amount of State share was already deposited with SRRDA while provisioning of Rs 50 crores for the forthcoming financial year has also been made.
Official sources attributed the prevailing confusion to delayed intimation by the Union Ministry to J&K Government on the matching State share for the year 2015-16. The change in fund sharing pattern of PMGSY, 90:10, effective from April 1, 2015, was intimated to J&K by the Union Ministry of RDD, vide letter dated December 10, 2015, whereas Rs 328 crores, out of total annual allocation of Rs 548 crores, had already been released by then, sources explained.
While the Centre is estimating Rs 54.8 crores as State share against total allocation of Rs 548 crores to J&K under PMGSY for the current financial year, the State Government is claiming that since the formal intimation on changed fund sharing pattern, the Union Ministry of RDD has to release only Rs 220 crores against which a State share of Rs 20 crores has been deposited, sources elaborated.
Pertinent to mention that for accelerating execution of PMGSY by 2019, the Ministry of Rural Development Department, Government of India, has enhanced financial allocation and also modified the funding pattern to the States during the year 2015-16.
The changed fund sharing pattern of PMGSY, effective from April 1, 2015, is in the ratio of 60:40 in respect of all the States except Special category States, which include eight North Eastern States, Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, for whom the sharing pattern is 90:10.
All the ongoing as well as outstanding PMGSY works are covered under changed sharing pattern and the State was required to make necessary budgetary provision, in the current financial year, for release of matching State share to the Nodal Departments executing PMGSY.
Even as the changed fund sharing pattern came into effect from April 1, 2015, the indicative annual allocation of funds to the State by the Union Ministry and the matching State share for the year 2015-16 was intimated by the Union Ministry of RDD vide letter dated December 10, 2015.
The matching State share is understood to be deposited after formal intimation on changed sharing pattern whereas Rs 328 crores under PMGSY were released to J&K earlier and hence this amount was covered under previous pattern of hundred percent funding by the Centre, said a top officer in the State Planning Department on the condition of anonymity.

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