Odisha Cabinet approves Rs 9,717 crore excess expenditure

The Odisha Cabinet chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday approved excess expenditure of Rs 9,716.74 crore incurred during 1996-97 to 2009-10.

A sub-committee within the fold of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the state assembly had raised serious concern over the failure of government to regularize excess expenditure of Rs 9,716.74 crore during 1996-97 to 2009-10.

The committee observed that the state government failed to regularize excess expenditure continuously over a period expanding 14 years, skipping four plan periods and running out terms of four successive Finance commissions.

The maximum excess expenditure was noted in 1999-2000 (Rs 2,658.52 crore), followed by 2000-01 (Rs 2,474.48 crore) and 2002-03 (Rs 2,068.93 crore).

Since there was no difficulty or discomfort due to non-regularisation of excesses, the tendency to incur expenditure in excess of budgetary grants and the pendency of huge accumulated excesses in thousand of crores of rupees for regularization has gone unabated over the years, the assembly panel noted.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of a full-fledged management university by Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar (XIMB).

The apex decision making body of the government approved the setting up of a private medical college at Keonjhar.

Moreover, the Cabinet approved payment of revised block grants.

Payment of block grant will be increased to 60 per cent in revised scale of pay 2008 to the teaching and non-teaching employees working in 1594 block grant high schools, 916 block grant upper primary schools and 100 per cent in revised scale of pay-2008 to the teaching and non-teaching employees working in 92 block grant girls' high schools.