Deviating from set norms, the Ministry of Rural Development has directed the Jharkhand Government to open a dedicated bank account to receive allotments coming under Indira Awas Yojna (IAY). The Ministry has taken the step to smoothen the process of fund release in the wake of regular complaints from the State over the delayed release.
The MoRD, in its letter issued on March 15 to Chief Secretary SK Choudhary, has said that the exclusive bank account at the State level to receive the State and Central allotments under the rural housing scheme would not only facilitate timely release but also reduce the difficulties in the district-wise reallocation.
The directive also adds that the proposed arrangement would be operational from the next financial and requested the Government to direct the concerned Department to locate the bank account and intimate the Centre with this so that large sum of fund is not delayed in future.
The fresh instruction comes after following similar instructions from Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh in February, requesting State Governments to open bank accounts and communicate to the Ministry. The mechanism would ease the pressure as every district would be freed from sending their proposals directly to the Centre for approval.
A senior official of the Chief Secretary office said the Government was acting in this direction and a dedicated bank account has been opened with Bank of India. “We will inform the Centre subsequently about this soon,” said he. The State is expecting to get fresh set of allotments coming under the new financial year starting from April, 2013.