GANDHINAGAR (Gujarat, India): The Gujarat government has acknowledged that that a significant portion of funds earmarked for tribal development, totaling about Rs 1,321 crore, remained unutilized over the last two financial years despite substantial allocations.
In a written reply in the Legislative Assembly, the government cited persistent execution challenges within the department responsible for implementing welfare schemes in the state’s tribal regions. The state had earmarked Rs 7,106 crore for tribal development initiatives in the fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26. However, there was a combination of allocation shortfalls and slow expenditure patterns, which prevented a sizeable chunk of this budget from being spent. In 2024-25, the government had set aside Rs 4,373.96 crore for tribal welfare. Of this, Rs 3,407.22 crore was formally allocated to specific programs and projects, and Rs 3,373.38 crore was actually spent by the end of the year, leaving a relatively modest unspent amount of Rs 33.84 crore.
The situation deteriorated in the current fiscal year. Against a larger budgetary provision of Rs 5,120.03 crore, only Rs 3,699.03 crore had been allocated by January 31, 2026, and just Rs 2,410.64 crore had been utilized. This left Rs 1,288.39 crore idle, accounting for nearly a third of the funds formally allocated and forming the bulk of the two-year unspent balance.
This was due to procedural and operational delays inherent in the planning and execution process, the government said. Staggered expenditure flows linked to monthly and quarterly cycles, time-consuming selection and approval of works, lengthy project implementation processes, and delays in verifying and disbursing funds to beneficiaries under various assistance schemes also caused delay, it said.
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