CAG slams govt on slow funding, tardy progress of JNNURM
The rate of completion of the approved infrastructure projects during the period was a dismal 18% while that of the housing projects was even more deplorable at 1.5%.
In its performance audit report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the CAG said the Centre released only R32,934.59 crore for various projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) until March 2011 against the Planning Commission's allocation of R66,084.66 crore. “There were delays in releasing these funds to the states and the guidelines did not contain any directions to stipulate the time in which such releases should be made,” the CAG report said. The flow of funds also showed that there was a rush of expenditure in the last quarter and particularly in the month of March.
Though the auditor hasn't alleged any scam in JNNURM as it did for allocations of 2G spectrum and coal blocks, the latest report is yet another blow to the government that is showcasing various flagship schemes aimed at helping the poor and policy action to scale up infrastructure investments to revive the economy.
After coming to power, the UPA launched JNNURM in December 2005 to improve infrastructure in cities for a total investment of R1 lakh crore, with the Centre promising to fund half
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