State moots performance evaluation panel

With the aim to evaluate performance relating to expenditures made by various departments, the Orissa government is considering to set up a Performance Evaluation Committee. The finance department will move a proposal in this regard for approval of the chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

According to the state finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, the expenditures made by various departments till the end of September have not been satisfactory. All the departments taken together were able to spend 27.57 percent of the budget provisions for the current fiscal.

While the total budget provision was at Rs 35001.45 crore, the total expenditure during the first six months of the current fiscal was Rs 9651.19 crore. He said, the model code of conduct enforced during the last general elections and engagement of officials on election duty impacted the spending by various departments.

Though under normal circumstances, 30 percent of the budget allocation is spent during the first half of a fiscal, this year it has been little less. This is expected to improve in the next quarter.

The state has received Central assistance worth Rs 998.92 crore and utilisation certificates of Rs 82.87 crore were submitted to the Centre by the end of August. However, in no case the Central assistance was held up due to the non-submission of the utilisation certificate. The finance minister said, no major action has been taken against any official under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act as reviews taken by the finance and the planning and co-ordination department found to be satisfactory.

He also agreed to consider a proposal asking all the engineering departments to complete the tender process in non-working seasons.