Chief Minister Yogi has given instructions to speed up the financial approval process of projects. The limit of approval at the departmental ministerial level is Rs 50 crore. Has been extended till. He also stressed on timeliness, quality and digital reforms.
Lucknow, January 30:- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has emphasized on making the financial approval process of projects in the state fast, simple and transparent. He said that the limit of approval from the departmental ministerial level, which is currently Rs 10 crore, should be increased to Rs 50 crore. Projects costing between Rs 50 to Rs 150 crore should be approved at the Finance Minister level and projects costing more than Rs 150 crore should be approved at the Chief Minister level, so that the projects get timely financial approval and the work progresses rapidly.
Yogi’s instructions to get the annual action plan approved by 15th April
- The Chief Minister directed all the departments to get their annual action plan approved by April 15 under all circumstances. The list of departments not following the deadline will be sent to the Chief Minister’s Office. He also clarified that if the cost of a project increases by more than 15%, the department should seek re-approval with reasons.
- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was conducting a detailed review of the Finance Department on Friday. He had a detailed discussion on the fiscal position of the state, budget management, capital expenditure, arrangement for construction works, lump sum provisions, digital financial reforms, treasury processes, pension system and departmental innovations.
- The Chief Minister said that Uttar Pradesh has to be made an ideal state of strong, transparent and result oriented financial management. For this, all departments should give top priority to timeliness, quality, transparency and digital processes. He directed that State Guarantee Policy should be implemented in Uttar Pradesh on the lines of the Central Government.
Asha sisters and Anganwadi workers should receive their honorarium on the due date.
The Chief Minister directed that it should be ensured that the honorarium of low-salaried workers, such as Asha sisters and Anganwadi workers, reaches their bank accounts on the due date every month. In the schemes where central share is available, the state should release the honorarium from its own account on time, so that no employee is delayed. This system should be implemented as soon as possible.
How much government money was spent in Uttar Pradesh in 2023-24
It was told in the meeting that Uttar Pradesh’s capital expenditure of Rs 1,10,555 crore in the year 2023-24 was the highest in the country. The state spent more money on capital works than it borrowed net public debt, which is a strong sign of fiscal discipline. Uttar Pradesh stood first in the country by spending 9.39% of the total expenditure on investment. All indicators like fiscal deficit, revenue deficit and debt/GSDP ratio remained in line with FRBM norms. The total liabilities of the state reduced to 27% of GSDP in the year 2024-25. According to NITI Aayog, the Composite Fiscal Health Index of Uttar Pradesh has increased from 37 in 2014 to 45.9 in 2023 and the state stands first in the front runner category.
- The Chief Minister was apprised that the RBI report also states that the state’s own tax revenue as national share is second in the country with 11.6%. Development expenditure (in proportion to GSDP) has consistently been higher than the national average and Uttar Pradesh also tops the major states in health expenditure.
- The Finance Department has made several reforms in the budget, treasury and digital financial administration in the last three years like online budget module, vendor management system, cyber treasury, completely online bill remittance, prevention of GPF irregularities, online sending of pay bills to AG, making GPF slips available on DigiLocker. Under the treasury reforms, completely paperless remittance of accounts through cyber treasury will be completed by April 2026.
- Regarding the innovations of the Firms, Societies and Chits Department, it was told that the department has digitalized all its major services. Old records are becoming digital. The public has got easy access to records through the ‘Sadar’ portal. Case management system has been developed and Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to be integrated with the ‘Darpan’ portal of NITI Aayog.
- On the maintenance system of government buildings, the Chief Minister said that there is a lack of uniformity in the contracts. On the lines of road construction, 5 years of paid maintenance should be made mandatory in all new buildings. He pointed out the need to create a corpus fund for the maintenance of old buildings.
- To ensure construction quality, the Chief Minister directed that third party quality audit of projects like buildings, roads, bridges, sewer lines and water supply pipelines should be conducted by IITs, NITs and state/government technical institutes.
- The Chief Minister said that Uttar Pradesh has set a new standard in the country in financial discipline, capital expenditure and revenue promotion. Now the aim is to make the state the most efficient and credible financial administration state in India by further strengthening the quality of expenditure and digital transparency.