The substantial underutilisation of funds released by the Union government for highway upgradation and maintenance by almost all states in the first quarter of this fiscal is, prima facie, rather a puzzle. Given the abysmal state of our highways and the significant spinoffs from better connectivity, state governments ought to be eager to improve the quality of national highways passing through their respective states. However, according to news reports, all but two states have yet to spend much of the Rs 1,527 crore released so far, with five of them yet to touch almost all of it. Since two of the five, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, are supposed to rank among our better-administered states, the reason evidently goes much deeper than the obvious explanation of non-availability of money, to the way we use it. (Editorial).