Executing agencies asked to strictly adhere to timelines
Officers to be held personally responsible for liability
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 20: Government today accorded sanction to the release of 50% funds under District Capex Budget in favour of all the District Development Commissioners (DDCs) for completion of ongoing works during the current financial year or at the most during the next financial year. However, certain conditions have been imposed in order to ensure that executing agencies strictly adhere to the timelines and officers creating any liability or financial indiscipline are taken to the task.
Moreover, all the District Development Commissioners have been asked to pay due attention towards the implementation of projects funded under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes, Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) and NABARD after checking availability of funds subsequent to which matching share shall be provided on first priority.
While issuing an order in this regard, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department has categorically told the District Development Commissioners that no new scheme shall be initiated till expenditure restrictions are withdrawn and only after prior concurrence of the Finance Department.
Stating that the District Development Commissioners/ Controlling Officers/Accounts Officers will release funds in respect of only those ongoing works which are to be completed during the current financial year or at the most during the next financial year, the Financial Commissioner Finance Department said, “before authorizing funds through BEAMS these officers shall ensure that the ongoing work has been initiated after following due e-tendering procedures and Administrative Approval as well as Technical Sanction is in place”.
“In no case the funds shall be released to clear any past liability and the same, if any, shall be referred to the Finance Department for appropriate action. However, the bills that could not be presented during last fortnight of March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic can be accommodated suitably in work programme this year and bills drawn as per the laid down procedure”, the Government order said.
In order to ensure financial discipline, all the Treasury Officers have been asked to ensure that the codal formalities are fulfilled and all the documents are in place while entertaining the bills through JKPaySys besides before, during and after completion photographs of the works.
“The execution of works shall be taken up strictly for the approved activities only within the approved cost and no liability shall be created in order to ensure financial discipline in the system”, the Government said while making it clear that DDCs/ Controlling Officers will be personally held responsible for any liability created on account of un-approved/un-authorized works.
Moreover, they have been explicitly told to ensure that all works/schemes are supported with technically vetted Detailed Project Reports and must be prepared by the executing agencies in close coordination with the user agency. “The projects/schemes shall be executed and completed strictly within the timeline as stipulated in the tender document and as fixed by the competent authority”, the Financial Commissioner Finance said, adding “the departments shall ensure that the expenditure against the authorized funds are made in stipulated timeframe”.
Pointing towards the ban on engagement of casual and need based workers, Dr Mehta has directed that all development/Capex release orders issued by the DDCs/ Controlling Officers shall invariably have the condition that the departments shall refrain from making fresh engagements under projects/schemes. “There shall be no expenditure on revenue or revenue-like components out of the District Capex Budget”, he added.
Further, all the District Development Commissioners/ Controlling Officers and Drawing and Disbursing Officers have been asked to ensure uniform pace of expenditure during the financial year so as to avoid rush of expenditure at the fag end of the financial year 2020-21.
Moreover, executing agencies have been asked to furnish photographic evidence of all the works pre, during and post executing along with latitude-longitude coordinates/geo-tagging of the project location while preferring bills to the treasuries for uploading into the system as devised for the purpose.
It has also been made clear by the Financial Commissioner Finance that the funds shall not be utilized for the schemes/projects approved for funding through Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation under languishing project scheme.
All the executing agencies have also been asked to strictly comply to the standing guidelines/ instructions on lockdown measures in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir imposed in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
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