Local bodies in Kerala have failed to utilise almost 40% of the funds available for implementation of Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) for housing and slum development, urban renewal, and works under the rural employment guarantee programme. The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on local self-government institutions in Kerala tabled in the Assembly on Monday has revealed that ₹1,263.5 crore of the ₹3,162.96 crore available for various Central schemes during the year ending March 2016 had been unutilised.
According to the audit report, this included ₹601.28 crore lying unspent with agencies like Poverty Alleviation Units, Kudumbasree, and the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP), thereby defeating the purpose for which the funds were earmarked.
Out of the ₹2,561.68 crore released, local bodies spent only ₹1,899.46 crore (74.15%), with the balance remaining in their account.
The unutilised funds mainly related to the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), ₹358.02 crore, Indira Awaz Yojana (IAY), ₹234.81 crore, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, ₹185.19 crore and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, ₹131.57 crore.
Local bodies
Out of the ₹4,310.13 crore allocated to local bodies during 2015-16 for State-sponsored schemes, ₹310.68 crore was surrendered.
The entire quantum of funds allotted for the National Urban Livelihood Mission and modernisation of slaughter houses was surrendered.
The report blames local bodies for poor revenue collection, shoddy maintenance of registers, and the failure to comply with rules, regulations, and government orders. Out of the 24 projects taken up by the Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, and Kozhikode Corporations under the ADB- assisted KSUDP, only seven were completed. The State had to forgo an ADB loan of ₹67.5 crore to finance infrastructure projects in 53 municipalities due to the failure to operationalise the Kerala Local Government Development Fund.
Fifteen contracts worth ₹330.12 crore were prematurely closed, resulting in a loss of ₹77.34 crore spent on the projects. The government incurred a loss of ₹43.68 crore on payment of commitment charges to ADB for the delay in cancelling loans. The report notes that local bodies spent only 8.6% of their development expenditure on productive sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and industry.
Misappropriation
The auditors reported 62 cases of misappropriation or defalcation by local bodies during the five year period up to 2016, amounting to a total of ₹6.38 crore.
