Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, May 23: The Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department has allocated a substantial amount of funds, totalling over Rs 18 crore, for the implementation of the ‘National Ayush Mission’ in J&K. The funds comprise a grant-in-aid released by the Ministry of Ayush as well as the Union Territory (UT) share under the program.
Out of the total amount, Rs 16 crore 31 lakhs have been allocated as grant-in-aid, while Rs 1 crore 81 lakhs have been allocated as the UT share for the year 2023-24, bringing the overall released funds to Rs 18 crore 12 lakhs.
According to the directives, the funds have been disbursed under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “National Ayush Mission (NAM)” and will be placed under the authority of the Director of Ayush, J&K. The funds have been allocated for both recurring and non-recurring purposes.
Of the allocated funds, over Rs 10 crores have been designated for general expenditure, while over Rs 6 crores have been earmarked for the creation of capital assets.
The Health & Medical Education Department has confirmed the advance drawl of funds by the Director of Ayush, Jammu and Kashmir, for e-transfer into the Single Nodal Account of the NAM Scheme (J&K Ayush Society) for utilization during the current financial year 2023-24.
Similarly, concerning the UT share of funds under the National Ayush Mission, the H&ME Department has authorized the release and advance drawl of over Rs 1 crores 81 lakhs under the Capex Budget 2023-24 as the matching UT share.
The funds will be placed under the authority of the Director of Ayush, J&K, for utilization within the current financial year towards the approved components of the scheme.
The H&ME Department has laid down conditions for the expenditure, specifying that it must strictly adhere to the authorized classification determined by the Finance Department.
Treasury Officers have been instructed not to accept bills without the complete authorized classification while noting that the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) responsible for the funds must ensure all codal formalities are completed before submitting bills to the Treasury.
Furthermore, the parking or withdrawal of funds in the Civil Deposit without prior concurrence of the Finance Department, as per the directives, will not be permitted.
In compliance with the directives, the Director of Ayush, J&K, has been asked to provide a status report on the scheme’s physical and financial progress during the current financial year apart from the Utilization Certificate (UC), which has been noted, must be submitted to the Government of India, with intimation to the H&ME Department, before 31-03-2024.
The H&ME Department has strictly prohibited the re-appropriation or diversion of funds at any level and has emphasized the importance of maintaining all necessary sanctions, approvals, and clearances before withdrawing funds from the treasury.
“Expenditure must adhere to the guidelines of the scheme and the conditions outlined in the sanction letter issued by the concerned Ministry of the Government of India.”
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