Meghalaya Govt urges Centre to continue implementation of Border Area Development Programme in the state 

The Meghalaya government has requested the centre to continue implementing the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) in the state. 

Border Area Development minister in charge, Lahkmen Rymbui informed the house while replying to a zero-hour notice raised by Mawsynram MLA, H M Shangpliang on the third day of the Autumn session. 

Rymbui informed that the department vide letter dated August 2, this year had taken up the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the continuation of BADP for the benefit of the people living near the border areas.

The MHA through its letter issued on April 6, earlier this year had instructed that the BADP may be continue only up to September 30 and that no Annual Action Plan for 2022-23 should be sent to the ministry.

Through the said letter, the Ministry of Home Affairs had also instructed that no new works will be approved under BADP and requested the state government to prioritize the sanctioned works. Only ongoing works are to be continued. Works for projects that have not been started should not be implemented, he said.

He also informed me that an email was received from the ministry requesting to update details of funds for ongoing works only in the BADP online management system (OMS). All information as asked/instructed by the ministry has been uploaded and updated in the BADP OMS accordingly (for the ongoing projects of 2020-21).

Rymbui said given this, the state government is carrying out the implementation of 99 projects approved during 2020-21.

Earlier, Shangpliang had expressed concern over the non-release of funds under the BADP for the past two years.

He had submitted schemes amounting to Rs 2.12 crore for 2021-22 and Rs 2.28 crore for 2022-23 for areas under the Mawsynram block and the same was already approved by the State Level Screening Committee.

According to him, the non-release of funds has to a great extent hampered the development in the border area.
Rymbui further informed that during the year 2021-22, the MHA, Department of Border Management, vide letter dated March 3, 2022, has released an amount of Rs 650 lakhs (Rs 585 lakhs – central share & Rs 65 lakhs – state share) as 1st tranche.

He said that the department had received the said amount and the same has been utilized for the implementation of 99 projects out of 139 projects approved for the year 2020-21 and 100% UC has been submitted to the ministry in August 2022 for the above amount.

He said the remaining fund for completion of ongoing projects as projected by the state amounting to Rs 741.83 lakhs (central share) due from the ministry is yet to be released given some technical problems in the PFMS.

“Further 169 projects amounting to Rs 2229.10 lakhs as per the ministry’s allocation for the year 2021-22 have been approved by the State Level Screening Committee and the same has been sent to the ministry, however, funds were not received to date,” the minister said.

During 2019-20, an amount of Rs 5066.883 lakhs (Rs 4536.42 lakhs – central share & Rs 530.463 lakhs – state share) has been sanctioned for implementation of BADP in the state, and a 100% utilization certificate has been submitted to the ministry during December 2021.

Moreover, 14 projects amounting to Rs 375.9795 lakhs which were approved by the ministry during 2019-20 have been sanctioned during 2021-22 from the state fund and the amount has been fully utilized for the purpose for which it was sanctioned.

During 2020-21, the Ministry of Home Affairs approved 139 numbers of projects amounting to Rs 15.66 crore; however, no funds were released during this financial year.

"The matter has been telephonically enquired by the ministry and the reason given is because of the Covid-19 pandemic," Rymbui said.