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State Issues Spending Timeline

Bhubaneswar:State Government has issued detailed guidelines for timely spending of the budgetary grants out of the Vote on Account Budget for the financial year 2022-23.

Principal Secretary, Finance, Vishal Dev has issued the guidelines for spending on the interim budget through implementation of Cash Management System in the selected Departments through Quarterly Expenditure Allocation (QEA) for the first quarter and Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) till July, 2022.

In March this year, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari had presented the Vote on Account of Rs 1,06,498 crore for the first four months of 2022-23 fiscal and announced a total budget outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore for the current financial year.

The Cash Management System was formulated on the lines of modified exchequer control based expenditure management and restrictions on expenditure during the last quarter of the financial year, being implemented in the Ministries of Government of India.

The system was initially adopted in respect of the 10 Demand for Grants administered by large spending Departments during the financial year 2010-11. Thereafter, it has been extended to 10 more Departments during 2011-12 to 2017-18. All these 20 Departments will also continue to remain under the purview of Cash Management System in 2022-23.

The Departments are Works, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, School & Mass Education, ST & SC Development, Health & Family Welfare, Housing & Urban Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Industries, Water Resources, Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Rural Development, Energy, Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Women & Child Development, Higher Education, Skill Development & Technical Education, MSME, Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

These departments have been asked to work out a monthly expenditure plan (MEP) on the basis of the QEA. The Finance Department has also provided an online platform to the departments to update their QEA and MEP in the Budget Execution Technique Automation (BETA) system for the year 2021-22 so as to ensure effective monitoring of monthly and quarterly expenditure patterns.

The departments were also directed to update their Quarterly Expenditure Allocation for the first quarter and Monthly Expenditure Plan for the month from April to July in the online system.

“The limit of expenditure indicated for the first quarter and for the month of July is the minimum; however, the Administrative Departments are free to enhance the MEP & QEA for their respective Departments within the overall limit indicated in the Voted, Charged, Revenue and Capital section of the Vote on Account and in line with the broad principles outlined by the Finance Department,” Dev said in the circular.

However, the QEA for the first quarter and MEP for the month of July should not be modified by the Administrative Departments without prior approval of the Finance Department.

Enhanced delegation for sanction of funds by the Administrative Departments covered under the Cash Management System. So, the Administrative Departments are authorized to sanction expenditure under the Programme, he said.

Dev made it clear that the expenditure for the continuing Central Sector Schemes/Centrally Sponsored Schemes out of the Vote on Account, 2022-23, only should be considered in accordance with the QEA for the first quarter and MEP for the month of July, 2022, subject to the limit of Vote on Account and receipt of Central Assistance.

The State Share is to be released in accordance with receipt of Central Assistance. However, in case of urgent necessity for release of funds, the Administrative Departments can incur expenditure to the extent of 50% of the provision under the respective scheme or 50% of the annual allocation made by the concerned line Ministry of Government of India whichever is less, during April to July, 2022

Further, in case of continuing schemes, the Administrative Departments can incur expenditure on the salary component up to 50% of the provision, during April to July, 2022 in anticipation of receipt of Central Assistance up to July without concurrence of the Finance Department, added the Principal Secretary.

“Expenditure is to be incurred only on existing establishments and ongoing schemes and programmes. It must be ensured that no expenditure on a new scheme/programme is incurred until the Demands for the whole year are passed by the Legislative Assembly and the related Appropriation Bill is enacted,” read the guidelines.

However, it said, the Administrative Departments can sanction expenditure on existing schemes where scope of the scheme is proposed to be altered substantially and/or cost estimates of projects/schemes are to be revised, only after completion of the process of appraisal and approval by the competent authority.