Finance Ministry asks ministries to avoid excess expenditure

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has asked secretaries of all the departments to take measures to avoid excess expenditure, over and above what has been approved in the Budget.

The directive comes in the backdrop of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticising the government for excess expenditure and wrongful appropriation.

"In the light of the observations of the PAC, secretaries to the Government of India, being chief accounting authority, are once again requested to take all measures, including use of electronic systems, to ensure proper planning and monitoring of expenditure vis-a-vis voted grants so that excess expenditure is avoided," Expenditure Secretary Ratan Watal said in a letter to all Secretaries.

He also asked various Ministries to scrupulously scrutinise the Budget proposals, both at the time of preparation of demands for grants and supplementary demands for grants.

Watal asked them to comply with the General Finance Rules to eliminate "the possibility of excess expenditure, under-spending, wrongful appropriations etc".

The PAC, in its seventh report to the 15th Lok Sabha, had criticised the ministries and department for not taking firm measures to avoid excess expenditure.

The Committee had also expressed its displeasure over the tepid approach of the defaulter Ministries/Departments. It had criticised them for bad planning, lack of foresight and ineffective monitoring on the part of Budget controlling authorities while preparing both Budget estimates as well as Supplementary demands for Grants.