Principal Secretary, Finance, Amit Khare, has said that the State Government has taken up several structural reforms to stop last minute frenzy of spending allocated funds at the end of a fiscal and also to shore up internal resources to spend on development schemes.
“But, we have to see whether the structural reforms taken at the Secretariat level are delivering at the district-block level or not. Because delivery to the people ultimately depends on the efficiency of the cutting edge bureaucracy (implying DCs, BDOs),” he told The Pioneer.
Khare, who as West Singhbhum DC in the 1990s was one of the first to unearth the fodder scam that went on to become lalu Prasad's nemesis, said the reason behind the increased expenditure is due to quick sanction and release of funds at the secretarial level.
“The empowered committee, headed by the Development Commissioner, is holding meetings every Friday to take a call on schemes, followed by the approval by the Cabinet, which holds its meeting almost every Tuesday,” he pointed out.
The Finance Secretary said that the marked increase in the revenue could be attributed to the funds from coalmines’ auction, check on the leakage, particularly from the check posts. “We have to see how the revenue from the excise could go up as it would require policy level changes. We are set to hold a meeting in this regard soon,” he pointed out.
Khare said that Plan and Non-Plan expenses should reach the beneficiaries and spent in their interest only for whom the government is continuously making efforts.
The Finance Secretary said that the merger of various departments, particularly the finance and planning will expedite the development process and bring efficiency in governance.
Khare said that the idea is to converge various schemes, implemented by various departments, but targeting the same stakeholders.
“The job of planning, budgeting and expenditure has been brought together with a view to take quick decisions. Earlier, the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing,” he pointed out.
“There will be a body on the pattern of Niti Ayog in the State to take a call on long-term planning,” he said.
Khare said that the number of schemes, being run for various categories, is being reduced. “It will result into allocating higher amount for a particular scheme. We had a meeting with the Social welfare department recently where we found that both the home department and social welfare department were running schemes for the women in distress. We have to converge such schemes so that the cost of administration could be brought down,” he maintained.
“Also, we have reversed the process of budget preparing exercise. Now, the exercise will begin in September and soon after it is passed in March the tendering process will begin and work will begin soon thereafter. Earlier, half the year was lost in formulating the schemes and placing the orders after processing the tenders,” he signed off.