Gautam Chakraborty, head of the previous board Malda, July 17: Development work by the zilla parishad here has come to a halt over the past five months and is likely to be delayed for another two, as the previous Congress-led board could not pass the budget earlier this year. "No allocation has been made for work, although funds came from the state and the Centre,' said Chittaranjan Das, the district magistrate and the chief executive officer of the Malda Zilla Parishad. "Around Rs 100 crore are lying unutilised, but nothing can be done unless the newly formed board passes the budget.' On March 7, the earlier board headed by Gautam Chakraborty, which had representatives from the Trinamul Congress and the BJP, could not pass the budget as it did not enjoy majority because the Left Front had boycotted the meeting. Also, the budget of the nine permanent committees that execute projects in health, education, public works and other sectors could not be passed in absence of majority. This was followed by two financial embargoes. The first was imposed on March 13 because of the Kharba by-election on April 12. The next was from April 14 when the panchayat polls were declared and held on May 18. "The embargoes even stalled the ongoing work, funds for which were sanctioned last year,' said an official. Chakraborty, however, blamed the CPM for the stalemate. "It was the CPM's plan to create this impasse for political gains. They failed to gain majority in the elections but only deprived the rural people of development.' Sabina Yasmin, the newly elected sabhadhipati, was not sure when the budget would be passed. "I have just taken over. The permanent committees are to be formed and their heads to be selected. Then only we can think of the budget,' she said. With five months into the current fiscal, the finance officer is paying employees' salaries and clearing dues on the basis of a special permission of the panchayat and rural development department that is renewed after every two months.