Bhopal, March 7 (IANS) The Congress in Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government of failing to “fully spend” the budget allocated from the Central government for several public beneficiary schemes.

Addressing a press conference, the State Congress President Jitu Patwari said that the BJP government in the state is proving to be extremely negligent in budget management and planning.

“The situation is so dire that the state government is unable to fully spend even the budget allocated for centrally funded schemes. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has completely ruined the state’s agriculture and rural development departments,” Patwari alleged.

The veteran Congress leader alleged that failure (spending fund) of the BJP government reflects not only administrative weakness but also the BJP government’s indifference to the state’s rural development.

“If the budgets for schemes funded by both the Central and state governments are not being spent on time, it is clear that the Madhya Pradesh government lacks a clear plan and the will to implement them effectively,” Patwari said during the press conference.

The State Congress President claimed that the Central government had allocated a budget of Rs 27,745.18 crore for rural development in the year 2025–26, but as of March 7, 2026, only Rs 11,457.66 crore has been spent.

“This means only 41.3 per cent of the total budget has been utilised. This clearly shows that the state government’s priority is not rural development, but only announcements and publicity,” he said.

Patwari alleged that the state government even failed to fully utilise funds allocated and those includes Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Janman Yojana, National Rural Livelihood Mission, and several others.

The veteran Congress leader also claimed that even crucial rural development schemes have received very little expenditure, which reflects the state government’s serious negligence.

He alleged that due to state government’s negligence, financial mismanagement, and increasing corruption, development schemes in Madhya Pradesh are collapsing before they could be implemented on the ground.

Patwari said that the reports show that the Madhya Pradesh government is merely making announcements in the name of rural development, while serious negligence is being shown in the implementation of the welfare schemes.

“If there is no expenditure on rural development schemes, how will employment increase in villages, how will roads be built, how will the poor get housing, and how will the rural economy be strengthened,” the veteran Congress leader asked?

–IANS

pd/khz