(a) whether the Government had released only one installment of funds to several
States till December, 2005 last year under the Swajaldhara Yojana;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for releasing the said instalment three
months before the expiry of the financial year; and
(c) the measures taken to improve the situation in future?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI A. NARENDRA)
(a) & (b) Funds are allocated to all States under Swajaldhara scheme in the beginning of
the financial year. The States then make district-wise allocations and communicate to the
Centre for releases. Since Swajaldhara is a demand driven scheme, where community
participation is to be ensured and contribution towards the capital cost is to be collected,
the District Water and Sanitation Missions (DWSM) take time in formulating the projects
for the District. As soon as the district-wise allocations are communicated to the Centre,
the first installment is released to the DWSM. Swajaldhara projects require 12-18 months
for completion and are not confined to a single financial year. Hence the time of release of
first installment does not affect the projects. The balance funds are released for the projects
as and when the States report satisfactory utilization of the first installment.
During 2005-06, Rs. 423.60 crores was released as first installment for new
projects and for other support activities, Rs. 23.45 crores as second installment for
completion of projects taken up in 2002-03, Rs. 26.04 crores as second installment for
projects of 2003-04 and Rs. 17.35 crores as second installment for projects of 2004-05.
(c) To improve the situation and facilitate early release of first installments, all States
are required to have a shelf of projects that can be taken up as soon as the allocation is
communicated to them. So far, nine States have communicated their list of projects that
can be taken up in 2006-07. The other States are also prompted regularly to keep projects
in readiness.