New Delhi, June 16: Doner’s big plans for the Northeast just got bigger. Less than a fortnight after being upgraded from a department to a full-fledged ministry, the Doner team led by Union minister P.R. Kyndiah has drafted a budget in which estimates exceed those for the previous fiscal by several hundred crores of rupees.
An official source said the estimates total Rs 2,000 crore, the highest appraisal since Doner was set up as a department in 2001. These include allocations for the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the non-lapsable pool of central resources, both of which are controlled by the ministry.
The annual estimates will be scrutinised and finalised by the Planning Commission. The final announcement is expected during the next session of Parliament, beginning July 5.
The source did not rule out the possibility of the Planning Commission pruning the proposed allocations, but said the inflow of funds to Doner would definitely increase manifold. “It is difficult to predict right now what the final, approved budget will be. That will be known next month only.”
The switch from a department to a ministry and consistent lobbying by chief ministers of the northeastern states for more funds are believed to have influenced the making of the draft budget. Another factor is that Kyndiah, who hails from Meghalaya, is in charge of the ministry.
The only representative of the Northeast in the Manmohan Singh cabinet said recently that the non-lapsable pool would be “rationalised” for equal distribution among the seven states of the region and Sikkim. The fund is made up of contributions from Union ministries that have not spent the earmarked 10 per cent of their annual budgets on projects in the Northeast.
The Congress, which did not do well in the Lok Sabha elections in the hill states of the region, is expected to be generous with allocations this time. But the general assumption is that pumping more funds into the Northeast would lead to more corruption.
The states of the region have not always been punctual in submitting utilisation certificates for funds sanctioned by Delhi.
The allocation to Doner for 2003-04 was Rs 1,069 crore, less than what the ministry had asked for.
The Planning Commission had previously agreed to the suggestion that the NEC be allowed to spend Rs 3,500 crores during the Tenth Plan, making a bigger outlay imperative.