SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has said funds under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) had to be withdrawn and re-authorised after the original mother sanction was rendered inactive on the PFMS portal by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
In a reply to Un-Starred D. No. 1/6/630 tabled by Kangan MLA Mian Mehar Ali, the Department of Tribal Affairs said the Ministry had issued an initial mother sanction of Rs 39.21 crore on September 15, 2025, for the 2025-26 Action Plan.
The funds were authorised by the J&K Finance Department and released to District Development Commissioners on October 16, 2025, through SPARSH for execution of approved works. However, bills raised by the DDCs could not be processed after the mother sanction became inactive on the PFMS portal.
The Finance Department subsequently advised that the funds be re-authorised only after a revised mother sanction was received, resulting in withdrawal of the earlier releases.
The Ministry issued a revised mother sanction on February 4, 2026, which was made active on PFMS. The Finance Department then re-authorised and released the funds in two instalments on February 4 and 10, 2026, following which they were again released to the DDCs.
The department said claims subsequently submitted through SPARSH were rejected at the PFMS level because funds were temporarily unavailable under the relevant budget head with the Ministry. The Ministry later conveyed that funds would be released to J&K in the first week of April 2026.
During the current financial year, Rs 20.02 crore, or about 50 per cent of the approved Rs 39.21 crore Action Plan, has been received. Of the sanctioned Rs 39.21 crore, Rs 20 crore has been released and Rs 16.67 crore utilised, according to the reply.
The department attributed the delay in utilisation primarily to the inactivation of the mother sanction on PFMS, the subsequent re-authorisation process and temporary non-availability of funds under the concerned budget head at the Ministry level.
The government also clarified that DA-JGUA is not restricted to education. The multi-sectoral programme covers 25 interventions through 17 Central ministries and departments, including housing, roads, drinking water, electrification, health, LPG connections, Anganwadi centres, hostels, telecommunications, skill development, agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, Panchayati Raj and tribal homestays.
It said implementation is carried out through convergence with the respective schemes of the concerned ministries and departments, with each agency responsible for interventions falling within its mandate.
The department said there was no policy decision to confine the Abhiyan to education and, therefore, no separate extension was required for sectors such as health, rural development, Jal Shakti, roads and buildings, agriculture, animal husbandry and skill development.
Implementation across sectors, it said, would depend on the identification of eligible beneficiaries and areas, prescribed eligibility conditions, approved targets and availability of resources.
