Government constantly monitors utilisation of welfare schemes

NEW DELHI: Government today said it constantly monitors implementation of welfare schemes with the state governments and implementing agencies to improve utilisation of allocated funds.

Union Minister for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh told Lok Sabha that Union Ministries and Departments are also taking initiative to improve utilisation of allocated funds by making changes in guidelines, improving flow of resources, creating better management information system and building capacity for implementation.

The plan schemes have diversity in implementation hierarchy, number of implementing agencies and geographical reach whereby there was no common platform available for financial monitoring of these schemes, he said during Question Hour.

Singh said the resources under welfare schemes are transferred to the states through two major routes - central assistance to states/UTs and centrally sponsored schemes. The two have been merged in central assistance to states/UTs plans with effect from 2014-15.

The actual releases under these schemes depend on several factors such as scheme guidelines, finalisation of schemes by states, availability of resources, absorption capacity, previous balances, submission of utilisation certificates by states and other requirements, he said.