MPs flag under-utilisation of funds meant for northeastern states

Several MPs on Tuesday flagged under-utilisation of funds allocated for the North Eastern states at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, a source said. The committee met on Tuesday to discuss the Demands for Grants 2026-27 for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The source said MPs across party lines claimed that funds meant for the region were not being fully spent. According to the source, Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena-UBT), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Derek O'Brien (TMC), and Naveen Jindal (BJP) were among the MPs who expressed their concerns. A letter was also submitted to the committee chairperson by the Trinamool Congress. The MPs, according to the sources, claimed that in 2024-25, 41 per cent of the budget for DoNER remained unutilised, and in 2025-26, the figure was 36 per cent. The letter also flagged alarming gaps between targets and actual beneficiaries of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, and said that almost 75 per cent of intended beneficiaries of the scheme remain uncovered. It said that 25 per cent of the total sanctioned positions in the DoNER ministry are vacant, and listed pending central disaster relief funds owed to West Bengal, which totalled to around Rs 53,696 crore. The sources said panel chairperson Radha Mohan Das Agrawal directed officials who had appeared before the committee to respond to the questions raised by the MPs within three days, and also said that he would send the letter given by the TMC to the Home Ministry for a response. The MPs also demanded a separate note to be presented over utilisation of funds for Manipur. According to the Budget, a sum of Rs 6,812.3 crore has been allocated for the DoNER ministry in 2026-27 against the revised estimate of Rs 4,479.2 crore in the last fiscal. Specifically, an amount of Rs 2,500 crore has been earmarked for the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme, Rs 2,300 crore for the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE), and Rs 825 crore for the schemes of the North East Council.