Govt won't tolerate corruption, delays in implementation of development projects: Saki

State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki today (4 May) said that corruption and delays in the implementation of development projects would no longer be tolerated, stressing that development activities cannot continue in a conventional manner anymore.

"The government has put strict emphasis on ensuring quality in project implementation, reducing corruption, and completing work within the stipulated time," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after a working session of the Planning Ministry held as part of the Deputy Commissioners' (DC) Conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.

He said the Planning Ministry is formulating a new "strategic framework" in line with the government's election manifesto and the 31-point outline.

The two-year framework is primarily aimed at recovering the economy inherited in a fragile state and ensuring inclusive growth by reducing inequality.

Saki further said directives have been given to ensure maximum transparency in the utilisation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) funds.

"The government is putting emphasis on strengthening institutional capacity to prevent corruption and wastage at every stage of project implementation," he said.

Highlighting employment generation as a key priority, Saki said the government aims to create one crore jobs. From now on, every new project will be assessed based on its potential to generate employment and its environmental impact.

"The broader goal is to build a trillion-dollar economy while reducing inequality," he said.

The state minister noted that deputy commissioners have presented a number of proposals and recommendations addressing challenges such as land acquisition, disbursement schedules, monitoring and evaluation gaps, and corruption in project implementation.

"The government is preparing a specific action plan to address these issues," he said.

He added that the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) is being further strengthened to ensure "value for money" in all projects. In addition, the Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) is being reorganised to enable real-time and accurate data collection.

Saki emphasised that the culture of prolonged projects, such as those initiated in 2017 still remaining incomplete, along with repeated extensions of time and cost, will be stopped through strict measures.

"Field administration has been instructed to implement people-oriented, cost-effective, and time-bound projects to help achieve the goal of building a humane and democratic state," he added.

He also said that policies will be formulated and implementation steps will be taken promptly based on the opinions received at the conference.