Expenditure equivalent to 47.6% of sanctioned project cost as of March 31
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 23
Nagaland incurred expenditure of Rs 263.41 crore against projects with a total sanctioned cost of Rs 552.83 crore under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) as of March 31, 2026, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha on July 22.
The expenditure amounts to around 47.6% of the sanctioned project cost for Nagaland.
The figures were provided by Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Sukanta Majumdar in response to a question by MP Gaurav Gogoi on fund utilisation under PM-DevINE in the Northeastern States.
Since the scheme was launched in October 2022, 51 projects amounting to Rs 6,443.62 crore have been sanctioned across the Northeast up to March 31, 2026. Against this, Rs 2,534.29 crore had been released and utilised, translating to about 39.3% of the total sanctioned project cost.
Among the States, Sikkim recorded expenditure of Rs 438 crore against sanctioned project costs of Rs 561.11 crore, equivalent to around 78.1%, the highest proportion based on the figures provided.
Nagaland followed at around 47.6%, while Assam incurred Rs 570.09 crore against Rs 1,402.50 crore, or about 40.6%. Tripura recorded Rs 206.18 crore against Rs 561 crore; Manipur Rs 204.07 crore against Rs 561 crore; Mizoram Rs 214.84 crore against Rs 595.25 crore; Meghalaya Rs 275.11 crore against Rs 773.90 crore; and Arunachal Pradesh Rs 160.95 crore against Rs 832.80 crore.
The parliamentary question specifically sought clarification on whether a 34% utilisation rate had been reported in Meghalaya and Nagaland, along with reasons and corrective measures for the reported underperformance.
The Ministry did not affirm the 34% figure in its response. Instead, it stated that utilisation varies across projects depending on factors such as the time required for tendering, award of works and mobilisation, site-specific and logistical challenges in hilly terrain, and requisite clearances.
Responsibility for project execution lies with State governments and implementing agencies, it added.
According to the Ministry, measures to improve implementation include regular review meetings with State governments and implementing agencies, monitoring through a dashboard and geo-tagged and time-stamped photographs, as well as field inspections and site visits by DoNER, North Eastern Council and third-party monitoring agencies.
The Ministry further said regular reviews are used to identify bottlenecks, with State governments and implementing agencies advised to strengthen project monitoring, expedite execution, ensure timely utilisation of funds and adhere to implementation schedules.
One technical point: I would retain “expenditure equivalent to 47.6% of sanctioned project cost” rather than call it a “47.6% utilisation rate.” The Lok Sabha table gives sanctioned project cost and expenditure incurred, while the reply itself does not explicitly label the resulting percentage as Nagaland’s utilisation rate.
