*Works to be taken up on obtaining formal approvals
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 4: In order to put an end to the practice of unfruitful expenditure on the directions of the Legislators and creation of huge unauthorized liabilities, the Government has issued new guidelines for the strict compliance by all the Administrative Secretaries, District Development Commissioners and Heads of Departments, who have also been told explicitly that they shall be personally held responsible for non-compliance of instructions.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that there is a general tendency of Legislators about kick-starting the works by announcing some meager amount from their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and thereafter starting approaching different quarters in the Government for release of funds for completion of works on the ground that meeting cost of the entire work was beyond their reach.
Stating that some Ministers are also following this trend despite remaining in dark about continuous flow of the funds for the works taken up by the departments on their instructions, sources said, “due to this the Legislators as well as Ministers only succeed in generating aspirations of the people, which otherwise remain unfulfilled in the absence of committed source of funding for the completion of works, because such works don’t get reflected in any of the specific scheme during the course of planning at the level of Administrative Departments”.
“This trend is widespread in engineering departments as engineers instead of properly guiding the Legislators and Ministers about the laid down guidelines encourage them for such type of works because of obvious reasons”, sources said, adding “such works not only lead to unfruitful expenditure in the absence of committed source of funding, but also result into escalation of cost due to abandoning of works for pretty quite long time in the absence of funds”.
Quoting some examples, sources said that during the tenure of previous dispensation several Ministers and MLAs laid numerous foundation stones of several developmental works by sanctioning meager amount from their respective Constituency Development Fund but the fate of majority of such works is still hanging in balance in the absence of committed source of funding.
“Several of these works are not going to be completed as the Legislators and Ministers have own priorities and ultimately the developmental related aspirations of the people will remain unfulfilled”, sources added.
Moreover, it has also been noticed by the Government that a number of projects are being taken up in the State Sector as well as District Sector or under Centrally Sponsored Schemes without following the laid down procedures including the prior agreement of the Planning Department and Finance Department respectively. “This is resulting into creation of huge unauthorized liabilities”, sources said.
In order to put an end to this practice, the Planning and Development Department has impressed upon all the Administrative Secretaries, Head of the Departments and District Development Commissioners to ensure that all the necessary Administrative Approvals and Technical Sanctions are obtained before taking up the execution of works/projects.
They have also been asked to ensure that the works/projects are properly tendered/allotted only after obtaining investment clearance from the funding source and the same shall be executed/completed within the available allocation only.
“Though similar instructions were also issued in the past yet there was no strict adherence to the same and keeping this aspect in the mind, the Planning and Development Department has made it clear to all the Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Departments and District Development Commissioners that they shall be personally responsible for non-compliance of new instructions”, sources disclosed.
In response to a question, they said, “this would ensure accountability and at the same time check unfruitful expenditure as well as unauthorized liabilities”. The Ministers and MLAs should understand that announcing or kick-starting works without committed source of funding puts unnecessary burden on exchequer and creates embarrassment for the Government, sources stressed.
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