Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 9: Finance Department today strongly defended its stand on the issues of strict observance of financial discipline in Government spending, particularly observance of the provisions of J&K FRBM Act.
The methodology adopted by the Finance Department in calculating fiscal deficit and the net outstanding debt is fully in accordance with the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission which were subsequently incorporated in the J&K FRBM Act. The House of Legislature and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will be looking into the variations reported in the media in due course.
The spokesman also clarified that the Principal Accountant General (PAG), had presented two Reports on the February 12, 2014 but the third Report was given only on February 28, 2014. The Finance Department lost no time in obtaining the approval of Governor which is mandatory under the Constitution and thereafter sent the notices for laying all the three Reports before the House on March 3, 2014 which was the next available working day for the Legislature (the March 1 & 2, 2014 being the off day for the legislative Assembly).
All the three Reports were accordingly laid before the House on March 4, 2014.
As far as the concerns of rising expenditure on Salaries, Pensions, Cost of Purchase of Electrical Energy etc are concerned, the Government has fully explained the position before the House during the Budget Session expressing its concerns and explaining several innovative measures which have been initiated by the Government for the first time in tackling them. On the other hand, the unprecedented improvements in tax collections of the Government have been widely acclaimed at several levels including successive CAG reports.
The official spokesman further added that there is no question of transferring the plan funds for the non plan items as every single item of plan expenditure is being monitored by the Planning Commission of India and plan funds are released in installments by the Ministry of Finance on the verification of Planning Commission.
Similarly, there is no question of over-borrowing because there are multiple checks on loans and open market borrowings of the State in the Planning Commission and the Union Finance Ministry which finally authorizes lifting of loans through the approved mechanism of Reserve Bank of India and the final check is exercised by the State’s House of Legislature keeping in view the ceilings prescribed under the J&K FRBM Act.
It has been the un-equivocal stand of the Government that it has met the prescribed fiscal targets year after year. In fact, its achievements have been slightly better than the corresponding year wise ceilings.
The CAG’s report for the year under reference 2012-13, clearly shows that the net outstanding debt to GSDP ratio has been well below the prescribed limits. The question of accumulation of debt liabilities for the posterity , therefore, does not arise.
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