Half of border funds unused

By Namrata Biji Ahuja

New Delhi

July 20: The 15,106-km-long international border covering approximately 25,000 villages is facing acute neglect. Figures by the Union home ministry reveal that the state governments covered under the Border Area Developing Programme of the Centre have used less than half the amount sanctioned to them.

Out of the Rs 520 crores allotted by the Centre under BAPD, only Rs 220 crores were spent by the state governments and Rs 290 crores was shown as "unspent balance" in the year 2007. In 2007-08, an additional Rs 480 crores have been released by the Centre under the scheme. Figures reveal that out of the Rs 5,731 lakhs allotted to Rajasthan (covering stretches of the Indo-Pak border) under BADP last year, there was nil expenditure by the state government and the entire amount of Rs 5,731 lakhs remains as "unspent balance". The other states faltering in expenditure under the Central scheme are UP, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Sikkim which have huge balances of "unspent" money remaining.

"While some of the unspent amount is the money which state governments have not utilised at all, some of the amount also consists of that money spent by the state government for which it has not submitted the utilisation certificates to the Centre," said a home ministry official.

The Centre is already under pressure for improving the connectivity as well as providing essential infrastructure in border blocks and villages as a step towards enhancing security and restricting the unlawful cross-border movements on the international border. The report of the task force on BADP, prepared by the Planning Commission, has stated the benefits of Central schemes like the Bharat Nirman Yojna, NREGS, NRHM, ICDS etc. are not reaching the border areas. Reasons cited by the task force are that the population norms of some of the Central schemes do not allow coverage as these areas are thinly populated. Secondly, availability of funds under BADP has led to state governments withdrawing their own funding "substituting state funds with Central funds instead of using them as an additionally".

Among measures needed to be taken to strengthen development of basic infrastructure in border areas, the task force has sought a review of the norms related to "local area permits" and "restricted area permits" by the Centre to allow "easy accessibility" for citizens travelling to border areas.