NEW DELHI: As its financial health is on the road to recovery after a slump caused by Covid pandemic, the Delhi government has restored ‘authority’ of the head of the departments (HoDs) or administrative secretaries and has started to allow them to take a decisions on matters having financial implications within their delegated powers.
The fresh order issued by the finance department on Monday says the HoDs and administrative secretaries will not require permission seeking relaxation from the council of ministers or the department for incurring expenditure in accordance with the delegation order. “Proposals which are, however not covered within delegated powers as per FD ON dated 07/08/2019 shall continue to be sent to the finance department/ Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC)/ council of ministers, as the case may be,” the order reads.
The government had restricted on expenditures after the pandemic crisis aggravated in July. Last month, after a review, the finance department issued a set of guidelines to ‘streamline the process of expenditure proposals’ made by the various departments. According to the guidelines, if the expenditure proposal is for more than `1 crore, the competent authority secretary or HoD, will place a cabinet note directly before the council of ministers through the concerned minister.
It further says if the proposal having financial implication upto Rs 1 crore, not within delegated power of secretary or HoD but the finance department, the competent authority will continue to send the proposal to the finance department for concurrence as per the procedure. In case, the expenditure proposal is for more than `1 crore, the guidelines says that the department may obtain the approval of the finance department on file and prepare a cabinet note for placing the matter before the council of minister.
“Administrative secretary of the department concerned will continue to remain authorised to incur Covid 19 related expenditure, for which prior concurrence of the Finance Department is required in terms of Finance Department O.M. dated 7/8/2019 without referring the proposal to the finance department as per order No F(23)/Fin(Esttll)/2016-504-521 dated 24/3/2020,” Monday’s order says.