Thiruvananthapuram: There seems to be a slight turnaround in plan utilization by the end of November, reversing a trend that was visible all through the fiscal till October. By the end of November, plan fund utilization is 24.78 percent, marginally better than the level of spending last November (21.03 percent). By December 10, utilisation had improved to 33 percent.
However, the sub-25 percent utilization for November is considered dismal by any yardstick. “Even the conservative target set for November by the Planning Board was 40-45 percent,” a top Finance Department official said. “Comparing this fiscal’s utilization with last year’s will be a farcical exercise as last fiscal was one of the worst in history in terms of plan fund utilization,” the official said.
This time, plan funding has acquired a unique pattern. Sectors like social justice that were considered laggards during previous fiscals have spend the most this time while consistent performers like tourism have shown an unprecedented dullness. Most of the outflow is on account of pensions for widows, disabled and also National Family Benefit Scheme and Annapurna scheme.
Public works, which had crossed 100 percent utilization by September last fiscal, is yet to cross 100 percent even in the first week of December. Tourism, which too achieves full utilization by December, has not even achieved 50 percent utilization in the first week of December.
Higher Education has fared even worse. The spending in the first week of December is a measly 18 percent. Of the Rs 528 crore set apart for the sector, only Rs 99 crore has been utilized. Housing, with less than 2 percent utilization, is the worst affected.
