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Patna, Jan 27 (IANS) Of the central funds it received, Bihar utilized just 50 percent in the first 10 months of this fiscal, leaving the state -- riding high on development claims -- with an astronomical Rs.14,000 crore (Rs.140 billion) to spend during the next two months!
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The news has apparently upset Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the state had ended up returning Rs.4,000 crore of unutilized funds to the central government last year.
Facing an opposition onslaught on the issue, Nitish Kumar held a review meeting with top officials here Friday and asked them to speed up the development work to spend more on ground, officials said.
An official in the chief minister's office said Nitish Kumar directed top officials of different departments to go ahead with the development works to utilise the money till March 31.
According to government data, out of the Rs.27,365-crore annual plan, the state government has been able to spend just Rs.14,000 crore by the end of the first three quarters of the current financial year.
This means that the remaining half, which amounts to nearly Rs.14,000 crore, will have to be spent by different departments in February-March.
An official in the general administration department told IANS that "Kumar was not in a good mood during the review meeting".
Abdul Bari Siddiqui, leader of opposition in the state assembly, expressed scepticism over how the government will be able to spend such a whopping amount in such a short span of time.
"Last year, the state returned Rs.4,000 crore out of the total Rs.22,000 crore as only Rs.18,000 crore were spent. This year, the Bihar government will return more unused money than last year," Siddiqui said.
Siddiqui said the chief minister should explain to the people as to what "magic trick" his government will use to spend half of the central budgetary amount by the last day of this fiscal.
Earlier this month, Siddiqui disclosed that till November 2011, departments like industries, commercial taxes, excise and prohibition had failed to spend a single penny against their respective budgetary allocation.
Siddiqui said that in such a scenario, either the pressure to spend the remaining amount will lead to "March loot" or the funds will have to be surrendered eventually.
The state government has repeatedly claimed that there has been a steady increase in its plan outlays since 2007-08.
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