Govt set to give massive plan hike to distts for 2018-19

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 25: In a major decision to boost developmental works in Jammu and Kashmir, the Planning Development & Monitoring Department (PDMD) has initiated the process of calling immediate meetings of the District Development Boards (DDBs), much earlier than the previous years, to finish the exercise by the end of April to keep maximum part of the financial year for development.
The PD&MD, which is headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, is reported to have decided to hike annual plan of all 20 districts for the upcoming financial year of 2018-19.
Official sources told the Excelsior that PDMD has asked all 20 District Development Commissioners (DDCs), 10 each in Jammu and Kashmir regions, to fix their DDB meetings beginning March end and conclude them by the middle or latest by the end of April to identify works to be undertaken during the upcoming financial year.
“We have asked the DDCs to line up the DDB meetings in consultations with the chairpersons of the Boards immediately so that the entire exercise is completed within a month and rest of the 11 months are utilized for execution of developmental works identified in the meetings,” they said.
According to sources, almost full Cabinet was likely to attend the DDB meetings of Jammu and Srinagar, the twin rotational capital cities of the State while rest of the DDB meetings would be chaired by their respective chairpersons, who had been nominated only few days back by the PD&MD. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is head of the DDB Srinagar while Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh will head two DDBs of Jammu and Samba.
The decision to advance the DDB meetings this year followed early release of 50 per cent budgetary allocations to all Government Departments by the Finance Department followed by the PD&MD, which was aimed at setting the tempo of development in motion at the earliest for full utilization of working season especially in the areas, which remain snow bound during the winter.
The Government finalizes annual plans of 20 districts only-10 each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions while two districts in Ladakh region-Leh and Kargil have Autonomous Hill Development Councils.
“The concept behind advancement of the DDB meetings is early identification of developmental works by the public representatives including Members of Parliament (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other Board members. Immediately after identification of works, the district administration would set the process in motion for starting works and ensure their timely completion especially in the hilly districts, where working season is very limited,” sources said.
They added that the Planning Development and Monitoring Department is busy in working out annual plans of the districts before convening the District Development Board meetings. Annual Plans of the districts could go up during 2018-19 as compared to current financial year of 2017-18, they pointed out and said the process in this regard has already been initiated.
The Planning Development and Monitoring Department has advised the DDB chairpersons to hold regular review meetings of the DDBs to monitor pace of developmental works and take corrective measures, wherever required.
“The Planning Development and Monitoring Department will ensure that all plan allocations to be made in the next fiscal bear proper classification, indicating, name of the work or scheme against detailed head-115 works,” sources said adding in the absence of the schematic classification, the relevant Capex release shall be deemed as invalid and not open to being operationalization.
Sources said the Planning Development and Monitoring Department has been asked to mandatorily upload department-wise `Name of the Schemes/Works/Projects, forming part of the Capex budget for the fiscal years of 2018-19, or, as per the format notified from time to time along with respective allocations on its website.
“Only such works will be authorized for execution, which have prior administrative approval, technical sanction and appropriate financial back-up. Expenditure monitoring across all departments will be done on a real time basis through PFMS,” sources disclosed.
“The procurement plans of the departments for the next fiscal shall be limited by an outermost cap of 60 days, starting April 1. From conceiving the nature and quantity of public goods and services to be procured to preparing tenders/RFQs/EoIs to finally awarding the contract, the departments shall compulsorily finish the whole process by  May 30, 2018,” sources said and added that any spill-over in timelines shall be automatically visited with the appropriate disciplinary actions.

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