Funds unutilised, projects in limbo

KOCHI: Though funds to the tune of Rs 890 crores were allotted for various projects in the last six years, the Kochi Corporation has failed to utilise even half the amount.Projects worth Rs 684.9 crores under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) were sanctioned in the last five years. But the civic body could spend only Rs 230.18 crores.Likewise, projects worth Rs 205 crores were awarded under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) for Kochi out of which only Rs 43.45 crores have been utilised.The statistics were presented at a special council meeting convened here on Thursday to review the status of JNNURMKSUDP projects. The tenure of the projects will expire by 2012. If the civic body fails in fully utilising the allocated funds, it will have to pay back the amount along with the penalty.Among the prime components of various projects under JNNURM, fund of Rs 201 crores was allotted for water supply related projects. The major project under this component is the Maradu water treatment plant project for which Rs 78.62 crores has already been spend. Still the project is progressing at a snail's pace owing to the opposition raised by the Piravam Panchayath authorities against the digging of roads and sourcing of water from the Moovattupuzha river. Out of the Rs 88.12 crores already sanctioned for the soil waste management, so far Rs 31.69 crores have only been used."Land acquisition is one of the major reason that is delaying various projects. The JNNURMKSSUDP funds cannot be used for land acquisition. It is the responsibility of the civic body to identify the fund for acquiring land. Since the Kochi Corporation is not in a position to raise fund on its own, it will have to depend on the state government for financial support," said a top corporation official.He said that Centre would provide only fifty per cent of the total project cost under JNNURM. "The state government will contribute thirty percent and it is the responsibility of the corporation to find out the remaining twenty per cent of the amount. Owing to its financial crisis, the corporation will depend on the state for its share of twenty per cent, which will further delay the project," he added.Meanwhile, out of the Rs 205 crores allocated for KSUDP projects, only Rs 41.9 crores have been utilised so far. The funds allotted for projects under sewerage, drainage improvement, Heritage and Tourism are also left untouched.