CHAPTER XI
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Subsequent Action in Respect of the Budget : Communication and Distribution of Grants
88. Communication of Grants : As soon as the Demands for grants included in the Annual Financial Statement have been voted by the Legislative Assembly and the payment from and the appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of the sums voted by the Assembly and the sums charged on that Fund have also been authorised by means of an Appropriation Act, the Finance Department will intimate the same to all the administrative departments of the Secretariat indicating at the same time whether the demands have been voted in toto, or whether any amounts have been omitted or reduce by the Assembly, either through substantive or token cuts and the purpose of object under line each such cut. The administrative departments will be responsible for taking necessary action immediately for communication of budget allotments to the various Heads of Departments and other controlling officers under them. The allotments placed at the disposal of each such officer for expenditure, whether voted or charged, will be intimated by the administrative departments to the Accountant General also. The controlling officers or the Heads of Departments, as the case may be, and the administrative departments concerned of the Secretariat shall be responsible to ensure that the expenditure is kept strictly within the authorised appropriation : and where cuts have been made by the Assembly in the demands, to ensure that the purpose or object underlying the cuts is duly fulfilled. They should carefully remember that it is not permissible to increase or provide for expenditure on any item the provision for which has been specifically reduce or disapproved by the Assembly through a substantive or a token cut.
The administrative departments will also ensure that the new items of expenditure for which provision has been included in the budget as passed by the Legislature are sanctioned by them as soon as possible. The orders will be issued with the concurrence of the Finance Department, except where the Finance Department may have delegated the necessary financial powers to the administrative departments. A copy of each such order should be sent to the Accountant General and the Finance Department.
89. Matter to be brought to the notice of the Accountant General : The Finance Department will supply copies of the Budget Literature to the Accountant General and while doing so will communicate to him cases in which, on a demand being presented to it, the Assembly has declined to provide funds for expenditure on a particular purpose. The Finance Department will also bring to the notice of the Accountant general any resolution or other motion which has been passed by the Assembly expressing direct disapproval of a expenditure on a specified purpose.
90. Deleted
91. Distribution of Grants by Controlling Officer:- The Heads of Departments and other controlling officers may distribute either the whole or a portion of the grants placed at their disposal among the disbursing officers concerned who are subordinate to them in such manner as they may deem fit. In the case of supplies relating to the estimates which are consolidated by certain departments of the Secretariat (e.g. by Judicial Department in respect of certain heads under "2014- Administration of Justice" and by Revenue Department in respect of certain heads under " 2053- District Administration – Commissioners and District Magistrate") the necessary distribution of the grants amongst the various officers concerned will be made by those departments.
In distributing allotments a care must be taken to intimate the allotments with complete accounts classification of each sum allotted, i.e. the major head to the standard object of expenditure. The controlling officer compulsorily seeks the advice of the finance controller before the distribution of the budget to sub-ordinate disbursing officers. The budget available at the disposal of controlling officer should not be allotted in so many installments. If the budget put at the disposal of controlling officer needs to be allotted in number of installments, the reasons shall be recorded by controlling officer on the allotment file/register. The finance controller shall be responsible for the maintenance of the budget control register on prescribed format (BM-17). Every budget allotment is to be entered in budget control register and duly signed by the finance controller. The allotment order shall bear the page number and serial number of the budget control register.
The name and specimen signature of the finance controller shall be informed to all Treasury Officers by the controlling officer and copy of the allotment endorsed to the concerned Treasury Officer shall be signed by the Finance Controller. If there is more than one treasury at the same place, the allotment order should contain the grant-wise progressive total of each treasury. The Treasury Officer shall compare the signature on the allotment order and specimen signature of the finance controller being sent by the Controlling Officer. The Treasury Officer shall not pass the bill beyond the Grant-wise allotment by the Controlling Officer or the express order of the Government.
Note (1)- Deleted
Note (2)- No distribution should generally be made of the appropriations under the heads ‘Grant-in-aid’ and ‘Scholarships’ where expenditure is watched by the Controlling Officer of the total grants against the State allotments, but there is no bar to controlling officer distributing the appropriations under these heads too among the various disbursing officers if he considers it necessary to do so in the interests of exercising efficient control over expenditure.
Note (3)- In respect of such items of expenditure as dietary charges in Jails annual contributions, grants to Universities, purchase of arms and ammunitions for the police force, purchase of uniforms, expenditure on special repairs and petty works, etc., which do not occur every month, the Controlling Officer has full discretion to decide whether he will distribute the grant or retain the full appropriation under his control, requiring disbursing officers who wish to spent money against it to apply to him for special allotment as and when the need arises.
92. Early action for communication of sanctions:- It is necessary that the communication of sanctions and distribution of grants is effected with the least possible delay. Every effort should be made to complete this work before the end of April. For this purpose the Administrative Departments should prepare necessary draft G.Os, etc. immediately after the connected Demands for Grants have been voted by the Legislative Assembly without waiting for the final passing of the Appropriation Act and the formal intimation of the Budget allotment by the Finance Department. The draft should be referred to the Finance Department for concurrence, where this is necessary, and kept ready with fair copies for issue early in April.
93. Items provisionally approved by Finance Department:- Sometimes proposal for certain new schemes or items of new expenditure are referred to the Finance Department so late in the year that it is not possible for that Department to examine them completely in detail. At the same time, such new schemes or items may be considered to be so urgent and essential that the inclusion of necessary provision for them in the Budget cannot be postponed. Pending the examination of all relevant details, provision for these items may be allowed to be included in the Budget as a special case. Such provisions are in a sense lump provisions although they are not to be treated as such and all such items must necessarily be examined thoroughly both in the Administrative Departments and in the Finance Department before expenditure sanction can be accorded. In fact such further examination should be started and completed well in time after the presentation of the budget so as to enable the Administrative Departments to issue the necessary orders as early as possible after the passing of the budget. The Administrative Departments should maintain a list of all such items and see that there is no delay in the issue of orders on this account.
94. Lump Provision : It has already been stated in para. 31 of Chapter V that the working out of details for utilisation of lump provisions should be started immediately after the amounts have been finally included in the budget. After the details have been finally settled in consultation with the Finance Department, approval of the Minister concerned should be obtained in the Administrative Department. The approval of the Finance Minister will then be obtained by the Finance Department. Thereafter the Administrative Department will obtain the orders of the Chief Minister. Only then the Expenditure can be authorised by issue of necessary sanctioning orders copies of which should be supplied to the Accountant General under the signatures of the Finance Department. The Administrative Departments should submit a report to the Council of Ministers, in due course, stating how the lump provisions were utilised. This procedure will, however, not be necessary in respect. Of lump provisions when the expenditure is regulated by standing sanctions, instructions or rules.
95. Yearly sanctions not necessary in case of permanently sanctioned scheme : In the case of sanctioned expenditure, e.g. pay and allowances of sanctioned posts and committed expenditure, no fresh sanction is necessary and the sanction once given remains valid unless the funds necessary to make the sanction operative have been specifically refused either by the Legislature or by Government. It is, therefore, the duty of the Administrative Departments of the Secretariat to inform the disbursing officers concerned, through the Heads of Departments, as soon as possible after refusal of funds by the Legislature or as soon as a decision has been taken by Government, as the case may be, of all cases in respect of which sanction to a particular expenditure has been terminated. In the case of the expenditure sanctioned for a specified term, the sanction becomes inoperative after that term has expired. The disbursing officers should, therefore, move government through proper channel in good time for extension of the term when this is considered necessary. The disbursing officers should be informed of all cases in respect of which the sanction is not be renewed. It is necessary that all such orders should be communicated well in time, because in the absence of a definite order to the contrary they may continue to incur, in anticipation of sanction of the competent authority applied for, expenditure which will constitute a financial irregularity.
