New Delhi, May 18: The Centre has revamped the procedure for allotting funds from the non-lapsable pool of resources for the eight northeastern states, including Sikkim.
Under the new mechanism, states will be required to submit a concept paper of projects to the department of development of north east region (Doner) which has the final say on sanctioning grants. The Doner will then assess the feasibility of the project according to the size of the plan and the number of people it would benefit. As per existing rules, no project of less than a crore would be okayed.
?Preparation of project reports is time consuming and also entails a heavy expenditure. Everything goes waste if they are rejected by the department. A concept paper on the other hand doesn?t cost anything and states can be intimated if there are flaws in the paper,? a Doner official said.
Unlike the erstwhile procedure when states had to submit detailed project reports, a concept paper would simply discuss the rationale of the project, its beneficiaries and the estimated cost. If approved, states are then asked to submit project reports.
Barring a few, all ministries have to spend 10 per cent of their annual budgets in the Northeast and the unspent amount has to be contributed to the non-lapsable pool. It was created in 1998 and transferred from the Planning Commission to Doner in 2001. However, sanctioning of projects from the fund and the associated guidelines have often brought the states and the department into conflict with each other. ?It?s necessary to understand that the department is new and conventions are in the process of being established. While retaining the stringent norms evolved earlier for sanctioning of funds from the pool, we have introduced the concept paper so that the task becomes easier for the states,? Union minister for Doner C.P. Thakur told The Telegraph.
Over the years, the per capita plan outlay of the seven states has been considerably higher than the national average. But these states continue to lag behind in development and infrastructure. ?Funds from the pool are invaluable for poverty-stricken regions like the Northeast. Assam has submitted concept papers of schemes worth about Rs 180 crore,? planning and development minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.