By Nikhil M. Babu
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) An average 23.7 per cent of output and outcome indicators for various programmes and schemes of the Delhi government departments were "off track" till December last year, analysis of a report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday suggested.
The 23.7 per cent of indicators were off track for schemes and programmes of 14 major departments, including Health, Social Welfare and Education, for which funds were allocated in the Delhi Budget 2017-18, according to an IANS analysis of Status Report of the Outcome Budget 2017-18.
The Status Report was presented by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
In the report, the indicators -- output and outcome of schemes and programmes -- of a department were used to denote whether their schemes were on or off track. Here off track implies the performance or progress of indicators of major schemes of a particular department (till December 2017) was less than 70 per cent of the expected progress.
With 45 per cent indicators off track, the Public Works Department's schemes performed worst, followed by the Transport Department and the Environment Department, each having 40 per cent of indicators for schemes off track.
The departments whose schemes performed well include the Directorate of Education with 89 per cent indicators of schemes on-track, followed by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) with 87 per cent schemes on track and the Delhi Jal Board with 82 per cent programmes on track.
Sisodia said that idea behind the Outcome Budget was to bring a high degree of accountability and transparency in public spending.
The Outcome Budget, which coveres 34 departments of the government, was termed as the "first of its kind" in the country.
Citing an example of Mohalla Clinics, Sisodia said a regular budget tells only about the money allocated for the construction of clinics, while Outcome Budget is about the number of clinics built and the number of people expected to benefit from it.
The Outcome Budget measures each scheme using two indices: output and outcome.
The infrastructure created or services offered due to spending on a particular scheme is termed as output, whereas the number of people benefited and how is termed as outcome.
(Nikhil M. Babu can be contacted at nikhil.b@ians.in)
