PANAJI
"Government has had to pay a penalty of Rs 53 lakh on unutilization of the grants beyond certain duration of time," D'Souza said.
However, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar explained that the penalty is nothing but the interest on amount received.
Parrikar explained that the central funds have to be released in a timely manner by the state government and that this process is subject to the submission of UCs and provision in the budget for utilization of these grants.
The disclosure came in response to a question tabled by Aldona MLA Glenn Ticlo. Ticlo sought to question the delay in giving grants under 14th Finance Commission.
"The delay is because the department is awaiting the utilization certificates of the first installment from the 14 urban local bodies. There has been a delay of 288 days in this process. But now, we have made a supplementary demand for Rs 30 crore which will be released soon," D'Souza replied.
