Government spending on infrastructure has not kept pace with expenditure growth on the United Progressive A’s flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme.

The rural jobs guarantee scheme’s share of Budget allocations has risen from 4.3 per cent at the time of its launch in 2008-09 to 5.1 per cent in 2011-12. The proportion of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds to the overall Plan outlay had soared to as high as 7.6 per cent in 2010-11, before dropping sharply when allocations were pruned in the current financial year. But funding increases have not been as forthcoming for infrastructure initiatives taken up by the Government. For example, the proportion of road transport and highways spending estimates to total budgetary outlay fell from 3.6 per cent in 2008-09 to 3 per cent in 2012-13.

Budget allocations for power-generation initiatives have also dipped in terms of their proportion of the overall outlay, sliding from 10.8 per cent in 2008-09 to 9.6 per cent in 2012-13. So did the share of coal and lignite development outlays, from 1.8 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

Even the Railways’ share of Budget allocations has fallen over the years. From 10 per cent of the total Plan outlay in 2008-09, the Railways accounted for 9.2 per cent of the funds in 2012-13. The petroleum sector also witnessed a slight decline in its share of Budget funding, restricted to 12.3 per cent of the total outlay in 2012-13 compared with 12.4 per cent five years ago.

Infrastructure building in the heavy industries and shipping space was also on the back burner, judging by their sliding share of Budget allocations between 2008-09 and 2012-13. From 0.8 per cent for heavy industry and 1.2 per cent for shipping five years ago, the share of fund allocations for these sectors in the 2012-13 Budget was equivalent to just 0.4 per cent and 0.9 per cent of the overall Plan outlay.

On the other hand, spending on rural housing as a proportion of Plan expenditure increased from 1.4 per cent in 2008-09 to 1.7 per cent, but this was slower than the growth in MGNREGS funding.

Iron, steel get more

The iron and steel sector also witnessed a rise in Budget allocations, from 2.5 per cent of the total outlay in 2008-09 to 3.3 per cent in 2012-13.

Allocations on rural roads and bridges got a fillip due to the MGNREGS. Rising from just a 2 per cent share of the Plan outlay in 2008-09, funding for these schemes was equivalent to 3.6 per cent of the total funds made available in Budget 2012-13.

>arvind.jayaram@thehindu.co.in

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