Srinagar, Nov. 12 -- A government does not fail when it runs out of money. It fails when sanctioned money does not become completed work.

Every financial year begins with allocations, targets and promises. Every financial year ends with a simpler question: what was built, what was repaired and what reached the public? The answer is not found in budget books but on roads, in water supply systems, in power networks and in infrastructure that people use every day.

The latest review of capital investment projects brings this reality into focus, concern is no longer about securing funds. The concern is about spending them on time, spending them efficiently and ensuring that projects move from paper to the ground before deadlines expire. This...