Union Budget 2013: Handsome hike for rural development, but will it be spent?

NEW DELHI: Finance minister P Chidambaram announced a 46% hike in rural development funds despite giving a modest increase over last year’s allocation of Rs 74,000 crore.
What got the finance minister a round of applause from the UPA benches early in his budget speech hides a paradox. The allocation appears big because the RD ministry could only spend Rs 52,000 crore last year.Obviously, the Rs 80,000 crore given for 2013-14 looks robust in comparison.
The RD ministry implements major flagship schemes of UPA like job guarantee, rural roads, livelihood mission and rural housing. MGNREGA got Rs 33,000 crore like in 2012-13 but it being a demand-driven guarantee, the government will have to meet the expenditure incurred by states.
However, failure to spend on other schemes like rural roads and rural housing has raised eyebrows. RD minister Jairam Ramesh owned up responsibility. “It is a reality. Rs 75,000 crore were allocated and we could only spend Rs 55,000 crore. There is collective responsibility but I cannot pass on the responsibility to states. As minister, I have to be held accountable,” he told reporters.
The minister blamed the low absorption of funds on “serious administrative weaknesses” in the poor states and complicated financial procedures at the Centre that delayed fund release. “Both are important. I am not running away from the responsibility,” he said.
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