(a) whether there have been reports of States diverting central funds meant for central
schemes;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State -wise;
(c) whether the Planning Commission has made any attempts to assess the impact of
such diversion on the central schemes and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the action taken or proposed to be taken by the Government against such State
Governments?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PARLIMENTARY AFFAIRS AND PLANNING
(SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA)
(a) to (d): Whenever any specific information about diversion of funds from any
programme is received, the concerned Ministry seeks details from the concerned
agency/Department of the State Government. Moreover, the Central Ministries keep
track of utilization of funds through the utilization certificates (UCs) by the States
and subsequent installments are released based on the UCs submitted. This provides
an additional check against diversion of funds. The expenditure on the schemes is
audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) or in some cases by the
qualified chartered accountants. The Audit Reports of the C&AG are placed before
the State Legislature concerned or before the Parliament and diversion of funds, if
noted in the Audit Reports, is examined by the Public Account Committee (PAC) of
the State Legislature or the Parliament and the action is taken by the concerned State
Government or the Ministry/Department in accordance with the decisions of the PAC.