Kollam: With just a few more days left for the financial year to end, Kollam and Malappuram districts top in fund utilisation in the state. Valakam grama panchayat in Ernakulam district has become the first to achieve hundred per cent utilisation.
According to the statistics with the Information Kerala Mission, Kollam and Malappuram top the list with around 40 per cent of expenditure in plan fund for the financial year. Nelliyampathi grama panchayat in Palakkad district has the least utilisation of just 13 per cent. The average utilisation of plan fund by the LSGDs is around 35 percent. Meanwhile, the LSGDs have violated the government’s direction to complete the projects by December by finalising the projects in March itself before the start of the financial year. The people’s representatives and officials in these departments have allegedly delayed the utilisation until the last minute giving way to chances of corruption in these approved projects.
According to sources, the officials also evade e-tender process for works above Rs 5 lakh by splitting up the project under various names, along with preparing fake bills in the name of construction materials.
