Meghalaya goes slow on urban devp schemes

NEW DELHI: Meghalaya is among the states in the North East that is going slow in implementing the Centre’s flagship development programmes, including the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
A recent review has shown that Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, which are either ruled by BJP alone or a coalition, have done poorly in implementing the schemes almost leading to a distress situation.
On the other hand, Mizoram, ruled by the Congress, and Tripura, rule by the Left Front, have done a commendable job by all parameters.
Meghalaya, which is ruled by a Congress-led coalition, seems to have joined the BJP states’ bandwagon as far as non-implementation of these urban schemes is concerned. It received only Rs 2.73 crore, falling behind Nagaland (Rs 2.98 crore).
Sikkim got Rs 5.35 crore and Assam received Rs 18.13 crore while Manipur’s allocation has not been notified, sources said.
The post-review allocation of funds for the region reveals that Rs 182 crore is being released for the NE. Tripura is getting the biggest share of Rs 128.53 crore and Mizoram is getting Rs 22.8 crore.
This was revealed during a two-day review meeting held in the region this week which found that the North East has been rather slow in almost all the pet urban makeover schemes of the Prime Minister.
In many cases in the BJP-ruled states, detailed project reports have not been submitted and fund utilisation certificates have not reached the Centre.
The Centre has asked Northeastern States to expedite the process of executing AMRUT. Even though AMRUT was launched two years ago, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are yet to submit even a single DPR.
Transfer of central funds and the corresponding share among states like Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to the AMRUT directorates in the respective states also remain incomplete till date, the sources said. The main components of the mission are water supply, sewerage, storm water drainage, green space and parks and urban transport.