Assam Government lays emphasis on proper utilization of budget

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: With the onset of the financial year 2024–25 yesterday, the state government has communicated the state budgets to all of its administrative departments. The outlay of the state budget for the financial year 2024–25 is Rs 1,43,890.62 crore.

The Commissioner and Secretary of the Finance Department wrote a letter to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, commissioners and secretaries, commissioners and special secretaries, additional secretaries and secretaries to the government of Assam, and all heads of departments for their supervision and control to ensure proper budget utilisation in 2024–25.

The letter has details of grant-wise allocations to all departments, besides some key initiatives and reforms to ensure proper budget management. As is the case every year, the letter has clearly instructed all departments to meet their quarterly targets of expenditure in the interest of effective execution of the budget. The letter spelled it out in clear terms: each of the departments should spend 20 percent of the total budgetary allocation in the first quarter, 30 percent each in the second and third quarters, and 20 percent in the fourth quarter.

The Finance Department has also asked all departments to submit their utilization certificates through the online mode, Finassam. It has also asked all the departments to issue their administrative approval and financial sanctions (for new and ongoing schemes) mandatorily through the Finassam portal. 

The Finance Department has also asked the heads of the administrative departments and heads of the departments to ensure proper utilization of funds committed towards inclusive (child, gender, and Divyang) sectors. It has also asked them to take similar steps for appropriate utilization of funds in a timely manner under the resilient budget. 

Regarding non-utilization and underutilisation of the budget grants, actual expenditures against some of the grants during the preceding years reveal that the grants provided in the budget have not been fully utilised by the departments. Hence, it is impressed upon all the departments to ensure that budgeted grants under SOPD (State Owned Priority Development), central sector schemes, state shares, RIDF (Rural Infrastructure Development Fund), externally-aided projects, etc., do not get lapsed at the end of the financial year to ensure maximum benefits to the people in the state.

 Also read: Assam Legislative Assembly: House passes state budget for FY 2024-25 (sentinelassam.com)

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