On Wednesday (December 6), Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked the administrative officials how they propose to prevent the unused funds to the tune of ₹8000 crores allocated to the state from lapsing. It is worth noting that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has only utilised Rs 3000 crores out of ₹11000 crore worth of grants made by the centre to various departments in the current fiscal year. The state govt has been unable to spend the balance ₹8000 crore so far.
CM Mann held a meeting at his residence with the administrative secretaries of all departments. According to an Indian Express report, the chief minister questioned how the authorities planned to avoid ₹8,000 crore from being turned back to the Centre.
The report said that the secretaries informed CM Mann that they would be able to use the funds within the next four months of the current fiscal year since tenders for the majority of the works had already been opened and that, in many cases, work was already underway.
“He asked the secretaries to pull up their socks and expedite projects where this money is to be spent. The meeting was called by the CM to push the secretaries to utilise the grants as soon as possible,” IE quoted a source as saying.
The secretaries told the CM that they were not getting central funds under several schemes. The officials also reiterated that with the Centre not yet clearing the Rural Development Fee (RDF), the repair work of rural roads, damaged by the floods, was badly hampered.
The health department conveyed that the grants meant for health schemes were also being stopped by the Centre due to the state government calling its health centres as Aam Aadmi Clinics. It is worth noting that Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh also made similar assertions last month saying that the Centre has withheld Rs 621 crores as part of the National Health Mission funds to the state. He claimed that the centre is not releasing funds since the state government has named its ‘Mohalla Clinics’ as Aadmi Clinics.
The centre, however, had said that the AAP government’s actions were a violation of the branding norms regarding the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (Ab-HWCs) scheme. It is also worth noting that the AB-HWC is formulated with a 60:40 contribution ratio by the Centre and the State.
Reportedly, CM Bhagwant Mann has summoned another meeting for Thursday to discuss with the secretaries about the funds that have been withheld by the Centre. It is said that the Punjab chief minister will now prepare a strategy on how to obtain such funds from the Centre. Notably, the Punjab government has already petitioned the Supreme Court against the Centre’s refusal to give Rural Development Fund (RDF) amounting to Rs 5,637 crore. On one hand, the Punjab government is locking horns with the Centre over funds on the other it has around Rs 8000 crore of centre allocated funds unutilised.
