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River management fund unutilised

N.J. Nair

Lack of coordination among departments leaves Rs.61.74 crore unutilised

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: River management fund to the tune of Rs.61.74 crore has been left unutilised due to the lackadaisical attitude of the Revenue and Water Resources Departments. While the fund received as royalty by selling sand has been left idle, the banks of the rivers in almost all districts are caving in for want of timely maintenance.

During the six years between January 2000 and November 2006, the total collection in all the 14 districts was Rs. 88,77,44,599. A sum of Rs.27,025,5636 had been spent for maintenance and Rs.61,74,88,963 was remaining idle. Illegal mining has had a bearing on the revenue returns of the administrative machinery in each district. Still, all the 14 districts together had collected sizeable sums and deposited it in the treasury.

After collecting Rs.3,68,46,987, Thiruvananthapuram district had spent only Rs.53,46,816 leaving a balance of Rs.3,15,00,171. The district administration in Kollam collected Rs.5,65,46,106 and spent 24,28,893 and had a balance of Rs.5,41,17,213. Alappuzha could spent nearly 50 per cent of the total collection of Rs.86,47,366. The unspent amount in the district was Rs.44,25,110. The unutilised amount in Idukki was 1,21,55,786, Ernakulam 8,3700,712, Thrissur Rs.5,86,48,698, Palakkad Rs.3,78,16,796, Malappuram Rs.15,41,76,379, Wayanad Rs.18,62,765, Kozhikode Rs.10,92,45,930, Kannur Rs.3,91,64,089 and Kasargod Rs.1,66,6,037.

The river management fund was constituted to overcome the funds crunch of the Water Resources Department in maintaining the riverbanks and also do other protection works. Rules specify that the amount received as royalty should be utilised exclusively for protecting the banks that are facing destruction due to sand mining.

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