Welfare schemes wither away in Rohanpara’s mud huts
However, Ajay Shukla, district magistrate of Faizabad, who also holds additional charge of the Faizabad division as commissioner, says: “The schemes are working well. There’s nothing wrong with them.” Shukla could not recall the exact number of schemes operational in his division which includes Faizabad and Ambedkar Nagar districts, but cited NREGA and NRHM among those most in currency.
During the 11th Five-Year Plan, the government spent Rs 6,60,506 crore on 147 central sponsored schemes, which by the Planning Commission’s own admission, needs an overhaul, with sufficient flexibility for states to design schemes that suit different localities. About 80% of the outlay for CSS (Rs 5,24,466 crore) was spent on just nine flagship schemes in the 11th Plan.
The government is planning to restructure centrally-sponsored schemes next fiscal, reducing their number to a mere 49 from 147 this financial year. While the exercise is in line with the strategy to cut the CSS share to 35% in the 12th Five Year Plan from a peak of 42% in the previous Plan, the weeding-out or merger of a large number of schemes will also allow the government to spend more on select flagship schemes ahead of the 2014 general elections. This seems to be in order given that some of the smaller schemes have virtually been a drain on the exchequer without any apparent benefit to the people they are meant for.
Tomorrow: District administration wants
Be the first to comment.
