JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired the High-Powered Committee (HPC) meeting to assess progress on Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) projects of NABARD taken up across different sectors in the districts of J&K.
The meeting, besides CGM, NABARD, was attended by ACS, Jal Shakti Department; Principal Secretary, APD; Principal Secretary, Finance; DG, Resources; Director, Resources, besides other concerned officers.
The Chief Secretary enjoined upon the officers to make concerted efforts for the timely completion of all these infrastructure development projects so that new ones are taken up for funding.
Dulloo asked the officers to expedite the submission of Project Completion Certificates (PCCs) by the executing agencies as per the set norms to enable the release of more funds by the organisation. He called upon the concerned administrative heads to act tough against the officers delaying the same without any plausible reasons.
The Chief Secretary also deliberated with other committee members on leveraging these funds for the expansion of rural infrastructure, like bridging the gap between the command and canal area, for the augmentation of irrigation facilities across the UT.
The meeting also took note of different tranches released by NABARD to different departments, including PWD, Jal Shakti, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture and Health during different departments. It further deliberated over the methodology to squeeze the timeline for raising infrastructure like bridges and other critical infrastructure works executed through funding extended by the NABARD.
The meeting also discussed increasing the pace of projects taken up under previous tranches of RDIF and the smooth execution of projects under RDIF-XXX.
ACS, Jal Shakti Department, Shaleen Kabra, gave a detailed outlook of the projects completed by the Department and those under execution. He also gave his insights about further utilizing these funds for achieving irrigation facilities to the last farm at the tail end besides irrigating thousands of hectares of un-irrigated land in different parts of the UT.
Principal Secretary, APD, Shailendra Kumar, said that the Department is contemplating to further upgrade the Mandi infrastructure through the funds earmarked for development of Horticulture. He made out that such steps coupled with others are going to bring better returns to the farmers in J&K.
In his presentation, the Chief General Manager (CGM) NABARD briefed the Chief Secretary on the transformative initiatives aimed at advancing rural infrastructure across the Union Territory (UT).
The presentation spotlighted the achievements and challenges of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), its financial achievements and opportunities ahead. The presentation provided an in-depth analysis of the RIDF’s performance from tranche XXV (2019-20) to tranche XXX (2024-25), showcasing significant strides in rural infrastructure financing.
The meeting was apprised that a total of 1,425 projects were sanctioned with a net RIDF loan of Rs 6,246 crore for which disbursement to the tune of Rs 3,069 crore, leaving a drawable gap of Rs 2,212 crore, signalling untapped potential for further development.
In addition, the sanction trends under RIDF with notable peaks such as Rs 1,542 crore sanctioned in RIDF XXVII against an allocation of Rs 800 crore were highlighted during the meeting thereby showing the unflinching commitment of NABARD towards development of rural infrastructure across J&K.
Giving the departmental breakdown of projects, it was divulged that the Public Works Department (PWD) leads with 1,144 projects sanctioned with a net loan of Rs 4,666 crore over the years and disbursements of Rs 2,366 crore. Other key departments, including Jal Shakti and the Agriculture Production Department, showed varying levels of utilization across these departments.
Moreover, recognizing the limitations of RIDF, such as restricted activities and fund availability, NABARD introduced the Rural Infrastructure Acceleration Scheme (RIAS), a flexible and ambitious financing model designed to fast-track rural development. The same features include a loan tenure of up to 20 years with a 5-year moratorium and expanded scope of activities that could be undertaken as those of RIDF.
To further make the expenditure effective the government was encouraged to maintain a ready list of projects for RIDF XXXI, aligned with prior-year normative allocations (₹900 crore for RIDF XXX), to expedite sanctions. The departments were asked to complete the pre-requisites, like detailed surveys, cost estimations, and approvals (e.g., forest/land), to ensure timely project implementation.
