The parliamentary committee for the home ministry has expressed dismay over ‘under-utilisation of funds’ for border infrastructure and border area development programmes and directed the ministry to, “strive to remove factors leading to under utilisation of funds.”
China, which shares a 3,488-km border with India, recently implemented a new border law which mandates citizens and local organisations to protect and defend the border infrastructure, and maintain security and stability.
The panel, “fails to understand the reason for such high projection when the utilisation under the scheme has been abysmally low. For BADP, only Rs 11.53 crore has been utilised (till 31st December, 2021) against the allocated amount of Rs 565.71 crore in BE 2021-22 under this head,” the 31-member committee headed by Congress Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma said.
Besides China, India also shares international borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a special “vibrant border scheme” in Budget 2022 in which infrastructure and development initiatives were to be undertaken. The report however stated that “the Committee is surprised to note that only 50% of the RE 2021-22 (Rs 1,481.10 crore) has been expended up to December 31, 2021.”
Tabled in Parliament on Monday, the report further took cognisance of the security provided for the elected representatives in J&K who have been targets of militant attacks. “The Committee notes that 378 councillors have been provided security. The panel however recommended that “appropriate security and accommodation may be provided to all elected councillors considering the security situation in J&K. It recommends providing vehicles along with fuel expenses to the elected representatives of municipal councils or committees at the earliest.”
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