Backward areas fund raises fears of disparity

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s decision to pump in generous amount of funds for the development of a select group of districts has, ironically enough, raised fears of the widening of regional disparities across the country.

While the Manmohan Singh government has set aside a sum of Rs 11,300 crore for this fiscal for projects to be taken up under the NREGA, it has allocated Rs 3,500 crore for the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF).

While the NREGA is at present being implemented in 200 districts across the country, the BRGF has identified 250 districts as the beneficiaries of the funds to be disbursed under the programme in 2006-07. And, interestingly, there are as many as 200 districts which figure in both the schemes.

The Rs 3,500-crore BRGF, which has been set up to boost infrastructure in the backward districts — identified on the basis of socio-economic parameters, is likely to see an expenditure of about Rs 20 crore in each of the 250 districts shortlisted by the Planning Commission.

The government, on the other hand, is likely to spend about Rs 56.5 crore in each of the 200 districts where the NREG programme is being implemented. “This will mean that the 200 districts which are common to both the schemes will see an investment of over Rs 75 crore during the present financial year.

This has created a peculiar situation. While these districts will reap the benefits of the two rural development programmes, it may so happen the districts lying adjacent to them will be deprived of funds altogether even though the two may be sharing a similar socio-economic situation,” a senior government official argued.

This, he feared, may create more imbalances, rather than correcting them. “A district in a particular state may be richer by Rs 75 crore by the end of the year, while another district, lying close by, may be bypassed by the two programmes. An anomalous situation will be created,” the official said.

There are at least 333 districts across the country which have kept outside the purview of the two programmes. “Even among these districts, there are, I’m sure, many which will qualify to be dubbed as backward. Why should they be deprived of the benefits such large investments ? This has the potential of intensifying the conflict among districts,” the official pointed out.