CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh administration has written to the heads of different departments to submit a progress report on the projects to be completed by this financial year (2020-21) end.
As there is a shortage of budget and many projects have been majorly hit, the UT wants to keep a track on all the important projects in the city and accordingly a budget estimate for the next financial year will be prepared.
A senior UT official said they are in the process of preparing the budgetary estimates for the next financial year and this progress report will help them in seeking funds from the Union government. They are expected to submit budgetary estimates by this month end to the Union finance department.
After the Union finance ministry’s instructions, the UT administration in this financial year, had decided to keep a check on the budgetary allocation for the projects and to carry out timely completion of important projects and prepare estimates for the next financial year’s budget.
The step has been taken as there was a dip in the revenue collection and the report regarding the dip in the GST collection was even submitted in the Lok Sabha, in which Chandigarh had witnessed 29.5% dip in the GST collection in the first five months i.e. from April to August of the financial year 2020-21.
The UT finance department had already made it clear to various departments that the office expenses, barring fuel charges, will not be allowed and there will be a complete ban on the LTC. Also, the travelling, dearness and medical allowances will also be released only after approval from the adviser to the Chandigarh administrator. The UT finance department had also earmarked funds for each department of the UT administration and asked them to stick to the same. The department will scrutinise the report on expenses regularly.
Against the demand of Rs 5,300 crore, the Union government in February 2020 had allocated Rs 5,138.10 crore budget for the financial year 2020-21 to the Chandigarh administration.
While the UT administration was expecting a good hike in the budget for 2020-21, but the Centre had given a hike of only Rs 384.98 crore in comparison to last financial year’s budget.
This time, the UT administration was allocated a total of Rs 5,138.10 crore i.e. Rs 4,643.96 crore under revenue and Rs 494.14 crore under capital head, against the demand of Rs 5,300 crore for the next financial year. In the last budget, the administration was allocated a total of Rs 4,753.12 crore.