Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 2: The Government will not be in a position to hold review meetings of the District Development Boards (DDBs) in the remaining period of current financial year due to imposition of Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission of India in the next few days. However, it was going to issue a directive to the District Development Commissioners to ensure that the ongoing development works didn’t suffer despite the general elections.
Official sources told the Excelsior that in the absence of DDB meetings and release of ‘projectised funds’ by the Planning Commission of India, the Government wouldn’t release additional funds for the districts during the current financial year, which is expiring in next 29 days.
“Like the previous years, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will not hold review meetings of the DDBs this year. The review meetings are generally held from middle of the February to start of the March. In middle of the February, the Government was busy with budget session of the Legislature. As soon as the budget session ends on March 4, the MCC would come into force any time,’’ sources said attributing these two factors as the prime reasons for not holding the DDB review meetings.
The Chief Minister had to take the review meetings along with the DDB chairpersons, concerned Ministers, Member Parliament and legislators of the areas to review progress achieved on the development works undertaken in the hands during current financial year especially those identified by the members in the DDB meetings held in June-July.
Sources said apart from budget session of the Legislature, which would adjourn sine die on March 4 followed by announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, one more reason for which the DDB review meetings couldn’t be held was lack of funds in the Government kitty, which it could offer as additionalities to the districts for undertaking more development works or expediting the pace of ongoing works.
“Since the Planning Commission of India has been releasing the amount during current financial year against ‘projectised works’, the Government was virtually left with no money to offer as additional amount to the districts other than the plan approved in their favour during the DDB meetings,’’ sources said.
However, they added, if any surplus plan amount was available with the Government after the release of full plan amount by the Government of India, it could approve additional amount for the districts provided that this didn’t fall under the category of the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission.
The Government would take up the matter on release of additionalities to the districts with the Chief Electoral Officer only if the amount was available for release of funds.
According to sources, the release of ‘projectised funds’ (a term given to funds released against the projects directly by the Planning Commission of India), the Government has been left with very few ‘loose money’ under the plan to forward additional funds to the districts as used to be done earlier.
During the past years, the Chief Minister used to grant additional amount to almost all the district depending upon the projects undertaken by them during the review meetings of the District Development Boards held in February-March.
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