This comes at a time when the central government is pushing for the development of the northeastern region. Out of the revised budgetary allocation of Rs 2,754 crore for FY23, only Rs 989 crore (35.9 per cent) was utilised by the ministry, according to the provisional estimates of CGA.
Under the ministry, the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) Scheme is the major scheme to fill up the infrastructure gap in the northeastern region through sanctioning the projects prioritised by the state governments. Under RE FY23, Rs 1,233 crore was allocated to it.Â
The massive under-utilisation by the North-East ministry comes after a whopping 113 per cent increase in allocation in the FY24 Union Budget. The finance ministry has budgeted Rs 5,892 crore for FY24 for the region in February this year.
Earlier this week, the Centre undershot its fiscal deficit target in FY23 at 6.36 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) against 6.4 per cent in the revised estimates (RE). It was on the back of lower-than-estimated revenue expenditure, even as the Centre’s capital expenditure (capex) had slightly exceeded the revised estimates.
Earlier this year, the ministry saw massive cuts in funding to various education empowerment initiatives by the ministry, from an estimated Rs 2,515 crore to Rs 1,584 crore.Â
Among the ministries that overshot the RE for FY23, the ministry of law and justice spent 168 per cent more than the RE at Rs 6,828 crore as its revenue expenditure went up by 223 per cent. This was followed by a 150.6 per cent jump in total expenditure to Rs 23,540 crore by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) on the back of higher revenue expenditure.
