Government decision-making is always based on facts, figures and established procedures. Every step along with sanctioning authority is also clearly defined without any confusion. The purpose of setting rules and regulations is to avoid unnecessary delays due to the presentation or referral of files to inconsequential sections, that have nothing to do with the approval of the subject matter mentioned in the file. Time and again, CAG and other auditing organizations point out that there is no record or sanction of the expenditure and ask for clarifications, but departments take it too lightly and ignore such clarifications. This results in avoidable objections, a sort of stricture, in the final audit report. The other important implication of not timely disposal of files is the delay in the work on the ground and sometimes even a lapse of funds. All the sanctions requested are important; some require immediate approval and have cascading effects. The interdepartmental files are of the utmost importance, any delay due to any reason results in the hampering of significant decisions on the ground. All these delays cause chaotic situations, sometimes with consequences beyond imagination. Hundreds of crores of unutilised funds at the end of each financial year are the direct result of delays in granting sanctions. With the files stuck in one section for a long time and the officer being transferred from that section, the outcome is further delayed. The administration has already put the applications of public in online mode and 445 services are under the gambit of the PGSA with a set timeline and, if delayed, a subsequent referral mode to the appellate authority. But what to do with these internal Government communications via day-to-day files? The process gets more exacerbated when the administrative secretary is in charge of multiple departments.
GAD, which is responsible primarily for the administration, has time and again passed on instructions, in 2006 and again in 2019. All the shortcomings of departmental noting have been pointed out, and the detailed procedure of filing has been explained time and again, but departments and officials are still not able to follow the circulated instructions. Officials must understand that all these administrative approvals are scrutinised by the auditing authority and, in the event of a dispute, any incomplete file will result in an adverse ruling. The fixation on responsibility and the necessity of sanction must be clearly defined to avoid moments of mortification later on. All these staid procedures to stymie the final approval must be avoided at any cost. In this digital age, parsing data is not difficult, and delays get immediately noticed. Furtive notes far from the facts are stumbling blocks in the final decision-making process. An incomplete file will be returned and thus result in delay, which is not to be done at any cost.
GAD is right in once again issuing the circular and reminding everyone what all has to be done in a set way. Being part of the Government is an honour but a responsibility as well. All officials must understand their importance in the development of UT; they all have something to contribute.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
