NEW DELHI: The home ministry released Rs 103 crore and Rs 89 crore under the central scheme for ‘assistance to states for modernisation of police’ in 2020-21 and 2021-22, with maximum disbursement made till December 31 going to Karnataka. Since several states have substantial unspent balances lying with them, funds against allocations couldn’t be disbursed to them.
As per information shared by the home ministry with Kerala-based RTI activist K Govindan Nampoothiry in a reply dated January 12, 2022 to his RTI query, the largest chunk of police modernisation funds released in 2021-22 went to Karnataka (Rs 31 crore), which also happened to be the only state to have utilised the funds released until December 31, 2021. While the funds released in 2021-22 also went to UP (Rs 32 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 14 crore), Tripura (Rs 6.8 crore) and Chhattisgarh (Rs 5.4 crore), they reported zero utilisation — as reflected in utilisation certificates required to be furnished by the states — until December 31, 2021.
The situation was not too different in 2021-22. Of the Rs 103 crore funds released, which was far lower than the Rs 759 crore disbursed under the police modernisation scheme in 2018-19 and Rs 781 crore in 2019-20, barely Rs 9 crore was utilised by states. Karnataka was the only state to have utilised the police modernisation funds released in 2020-21.
Sources said the finance ministry has since the last couple of years made norms for release of funds to the states under central schemes tougher, requiring utilisation certificates to be submitted by the state before a fresh release can be made.
Where on account of non-receipt of utilisation certificates from some states, for which it was not possible to release funds to those states, such unreleased amounts are pooled and released to the states with no pending or overdue utilisation certificates as ‘better performance incentives’, in proportion of the inter-state distribution ratio.
Nampoothiry told TOI that data shared by MHA reflected the lackadaisical approach of many states in utilisation the funds allotted for modernising their police force, even when threats to internal security were increasing. “Timely audit of the progress of police force modernisation, from procurement of modern weapons to services rendered, is the need of the hour as the challenges to internal security as well as border regions rise. The home ministry should ensure that the funds are utilised effectively and aligned with the vision of upgrading the police force to the next level. States like Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana and the UT of Kashmir should be more vigilant,” he said.
The funding ratio as per the central scheme for assistance to states for police modernisation is 60:40 between the Centre and states for all states except the eight northeastern states and the two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, for which the funding pattern is 90:10.
As per information shared by the home ministry with Kerala-based RTI activist K Govindan Nampoothiry in a reply dated January 12, 2022 to his RTI query, the largest chunk of police modernisation funds released in 2021-22 went to Karnataka (Rs 31 crore), which also happened to be the only state to have utilised the funds released until December 31, 2021. While the funds released in 2021-22 also went to UP (Rs 32 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 14 crore), Tripura (Rs 6.8 crore) and Chhattisgarh (Rs 5.4 crore), they reported zero utilisation — as reflected in utilisation certificates required to be furnished by the states — until December 31, 2021.
The situation was not too different in 2021-22. Of the Rs 103 crore funds released, which was far lower than the Rs 759 crore disbursed under the police modernisation scheme in 2018-19 and Rs 781 crore in 2019-20, barely Rs 9 crore was utilised by states. Karnataka was the only state to have utilised the police modernisation funds released in 2020-21.
Sources said the finance ministry has since the last couple of years made norms for release of funds to the states under central schemes tougher, requiring utilisation certificates to be submitted by the state before a fresh release can be made.
Where on account of non-receipt of utilisation certificates from some states, for which it was not possible to release funds to those states, such unreleased amounts are pooled and released to the states with no pending or overdue utilisation certificates as ‘better performance incentives’, in proportion of the inter-state distribution ratio.
Nampoothiry told TOI that data shared by MHA reflected the lackadaisical approach of many states in utilisation the funds allotted for modernising their police force, even when threats to internal security were increasing. “Timely audit of the progress of police force modernisation, from procurement of modern weapons to services rendered, is the need of the hour as the challenges to internal security as well as border regions rise. The home ministry should ensure that the funds are utilised effectively and aligned with the vision of upgrading the police force to the next level. States like Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana and the UT of Kashmir should be more vigilant,” he said.
The funding ratio as per the central scheme for assistance to states for police modernisation is 60:40 between the Centre and states for all states except the eight northeastern states and the two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, for which the funding pattern is 90:10.
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