Speed up financial sanctions for ‘larger’ use: CM tells officers

LUCKNOW : Taking strong exception to the failure of 32 major departments in utilising a large chunk of funds in the first six months of the current financial year, chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked senior officers to expedite financial sanctions to step up the pace of development work, ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The chief minister was reviewing the situation at a meeting here on Thursday evening.

Yogi wants financial sanctions for development works speeded up to ensure higher utilization of funds before the election commission’s model code of conduct for 2019 polls comes into force.

A mid-term review revealed that 32 major departments of the state government had not used a large chunk of budgetary funds with a sum of only Rs 1.03 lakh crore (31.12 per cent) used in the first six months of current financial year against the budgetary provision of Rs 3.31 lakh crore (including supplementary budget) made for them in 2018-2019.

Hindustan Times had on Thursday carried a report focusing on 31.12 per cent use of funds by 32 major departments, having a budget of ₹1,000 cr and above.

A senior officer said the situation about use of funds was comparatively better than the previous year. The departments, however, have not used funds up to desired levels. These include education (basic, secondary and higher), energy, infrastructure and industrial development, urban development, civil aviation, forest, agriculture, sugar and sugarcane development, minority welfare and public works departments etc.

As the departments have issued financial sanctions for only Rs 2.09 lakh crore against the budgeted amount of Rs 3.31 lakh crore for these departments by September 30, the state government has asked them to expeditiously issue all the sanctions.

YOGI WANTS FINANCIAL SANCTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT WORKS SPEEDED UP TO ENSURE HIGHER UTILIZATION OF FUNDS BEFORE THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR 2019 POLLS COMES INTO FORCE

The state government had got a budget of Rs 4,28,384.53 crore passed for 2018-2019. An additional supplementary budget of Rs 34,833.24 crore was also passed to incorporate allocation of funds for some major development projects that included provisions for the defence corridor and the Jewar international airport project.

The state government though had got an annual budget of Rs 3.85 lakh crore approved from the state legislature for 2017-2018, it was able to spend only Rs 3.05 lakh crore (about 79.2 per cent). This included a revenue expenditure of Rs 2.66 lakh crore, about 86.6 per cent of the budgetary estimates for the year.

Its capital expenditure was merely 50 per cent of the budgetary estimates with spending coming down to Rs 39,000 crore against estimated provision of Rs 78,000 crore.