Rs 1,600 crore central road funds lie unused

States have few proposals for road development

While the Centre has imposed an additional cess of 50 paise for the development of national highways, 34.16 per cent of the central road fund (CRF), amounting to Rs 1,600 crore allotted to states and union territories, still lie unspent. States have not come forward with enough proposals for road development.

Delhi, despite being the national capital, sets a poor precedent. Of the total Rs 137 crore accruing to Delhi in the last 4 years, only 13.68 per cent (Rs 18.84 crore) was spent.

No funds were released for 3 years, 2001-03 and 2004-05. Bihar and Kerela had accruals of Rs 132 crore with a utilisation of nearly 45 per cent.

The CRF was set up in 2000-01. According to official figures, of Rs 4,705 crore accruing from the CRF till 2004-05, about Rs 3,099 crore were released to states.

The amount released to state governments is based on the progress of various projects. The fund is non-lapsable. A low utilisation, despite high accruals, would mean locking up of resources, till states found a use for them, said highway ministry officials.

Nearly 30 per cent of the CRF, collected through a Rs 1.50 cess on petrol and diesel, go to states. About 60 per cent are used for building national highways and the rest for rail overbridges.

The criteria for accruals of funds to various states give 60 per cent weighting to diesel and petrol consumption and 40 per cent to the geographical location.

"Urban states like Delhi manage to corner a larger share because of high vehicular traffic, despite poor utilisation," said an official.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, that have the highest accruals, have below 70 per cent utilisation. Maharashtra has been able to spend 66.05 per cent of the total Rs 503.86 crore accrued to it.

Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh utilised 68.7 per cent and 63.5 per cent, respectively. Only Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Assam and Mizoram have more than 80 per cent utilisation.