BHUBANESWAR: With the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) raising concern over huge unspent balance lying in numerous personal deposit accounts (PDA) in the banks, the State Finance department has asked major spending departments to implement a ‘one scheme one account’ policy.“The practice of operating multiple bank accounts against one scheme and depositing funds of multiple schemes in one account should be discontinued immediately for proper monitoring of scheme funds. There should be only one bank account against a particular scheme,” the Finance department said in a letter.
Faced with deficit revenue due to Covid-19 pandemic situation, the department further said, “Steps need to be taken to implement ‘one scheme, one account’ policy by closing multiple accounts operated against one scheme.”In the process of preparing supplementary provision, the Finance department is mopping up resources to meet commitments made in the annual budget 2020-21.
In its State Finances audit report for the year ended March 2019, the CAG pointed out an unspent balance of Rs 17,503.50 crore in 831 PDAs as on March 31, 2019. While on March 31, 2017, the state had reported an unspent balance of `1,104 crore lying in 827 PDAs, the idle funds in bank accounts recorded a high jump to `13,509.35 crore as on March 31, 2018.
The departments have now been advised to review the unspent amount held in bank accounts of drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs) and implementing agencies operating under them and refund the same to the consolidated fund of the state government by end of October.The DDOs concerned should furnish certificates that they have refunded all unspent balances to the state exchequer under appropriate heads of account along with the salary bills of their establishment pertaining to the month of October 2020.
The Finance department directive came following a review of the unspent balance by Development Commissioner SC Mohapatra with secretaries of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Housing and Urban Development, ST&SC Development, Women and Child Welfare and Social Security and Empowerment departments recently.
It is often noticed that implementing agencies keep on sitting over the state scheme funds without taking any step for utilisation of the allotted funds due to unavoidable circumstances. At the same time, department authorities keep on releasing funds without verifying the status of fund utilisation in different schemes, the letter said.