Agartala, April 2: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jyotiraditya Scindia, informed the Parliament on Wednesday that the Centre had spent more than double the earmarked budget for the Northeast in the last financial year.

Against an allocated budget of ₹51,000 crore, the total expenditure from 54 ministries exceeded ₹1.06 lakh crore, he said.

Scindia was responding to a query from former Tripura Chief Minister and West Tripura MP, Biplab Kumar Deb, who raised concerns over fund allocation and its optimal utilisation in the region.

The Minister assured the House that, as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive, a “whole-of-government” approach was being adopted for the Northeast’s development.

“All 54 ministries have been instructed to allocate at least 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support specifically for the region. Last year, we spent 106% more than what was originally allocated,” Scindia said.

He further highlighted that ministries were working in coordination to ensure the effective use of funds.

“Not a single rupee meant for the Northeast is going to waste. In fact, we are investing more than what was planned,” he added.

Deb had earlier expressed concerns that unutilised funds might be returned to the central finance pool, affecting the region’s development.

Earlier on March 25, separate data presented in the Lok Sabha had raised concerns about delays in projects under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).

Minister of State for DoNER, Sukanta Majumdar, in response to a question by Congress Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi, had revealed that critical infrastructure projects in Assam were lagging due to inadequate fund disbursement.

Of the ₹1,223.49 crore sanctioned since 2017-18 for 27 key projects under NESIDS, only ₹206.88 crore—just 16.91%—had been released so far.

Education, which accounts for the highest number of projects under the scheme (19 in total), was allocated ₹881.08 crore but has received only ₹101.68 crore.

With both increased spending and concerns over fund disbursement being highlighted in Parliament, the focus now remains on ensuring timely execution of developmental projects in the region.