HYDERABAD: In a significant shift in the financial administration, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is learnt to have decided to directly get involved in the process of clearing pending bills.
Sources in the government informed this newspaper that henceforth, the CM, along with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, will clear the bills.
The CM reportedly took this decision in view of a few MLAs openly expressing their dissent over pending bills.
According to sources, Revanth and Vikramarka — who also holds the finance portfolio — would meet once every fortnight to review and clear bills pending for a long time.
This move appears to be an effort by the government to restore confidence among its legislators and ensure a more transparent process of financial management.
Special attention
While routine administrative bills will continued to be cleared following the standard process outlined by the Secretariat Business Rules, it is said that the chief minister and the deputy CM are likely to give special attention to the backlog bills, for which tokens have already been issued but have remained unsettled for an extended period.
The decision is seen as an attempt to ensure a fair distribution of financial resources, with the guiding principle of releasing smaller amounts to benefit the largest number of stakeholders. This approach is intended to prevent further criticism and allegations of favouritism, sources said.
The issue gained traction after a group of disgruntled MLAs, led by Jadcherla MLA J Anirudh Reddy, held a private meeting to discuss the delays. Several members voiced concerns that bills linked to a select group of ministers were being cleared promptly, while others faced indefinite delays.
In the aftermath of this meeting, the ruling Congress party held a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) session, chaired by the CM and attended by senior party figures, including TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud and the then AICC Telangana in-charge, Deepa Dasmunshi. During the CLP meeting, the Finance minister provided a detailed presentation on the state’s financial position, outlining the reasons for delays in clearing bills.
The decision to jointly clear the pending bills is learnt to have been taken at a meeting attended by almost all members of the state Cabinet.