Ghadai pulls up departments over delay in UC submission

Even after the stricture of Comptroller and Auditor General of India and stern directive of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the submission of utilization certificates (UC) for different projects being implemented by various departments has hardly gained momentum.

The overall UC pendency still stands at Rs 4,564.08 crore, nearly at the same level when the matter was last reviewed by the Chief Minister in April this year.

The state minister for finance and public enterprises Prafulla Chandra Ghadai on Thursday reviewed the status of submission of UCs by different departments. Concerned over the inordinate delay in the process, the minister directed all departments to submit pending UC in respect of Central assistance for 2009-10 by December 31 this year.

 

Moreover, the departments have been asked to initiate steps to submit at least 90 per cent of the UC against Central assistance received for 2010-11 by the end of this fiscal.

The financial advisors of all departments were instructed to review the progress of UC submission every month.

Ghadai admitted that the state departments have been laggards in UC submission of UCs but refused to elaborate on the matter.

The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India in its latest report on state finances for the year ended March 31 this year had pulled up the state government for the delay in submission of UCs. It may be noted that UC for Central assistance up to Rs 4,564.08 crore received for 2009-10 was yet to be submitted.

The highest pending amount was that of the department of women & child development department at Rs 1,131.18 crore followed by Panchayati Raj department at Rs 969.83 crore.

For the Panchayati Raj department, the UC of Rs 75.49 crore was pending under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Rs 119.30 crore under Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Rs 230.61 crore under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), and Rs 200.40 crore under the Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) for 2009-10.

Other departments with pending UCs are SC & ST Development department (Rs 556.38 crore), Urban Development (Rs 406.68 crore), Water Resources (Rs 215.90 crore) and Rural Development (Rs 175.68 crore), home (Rs 142.53 crore), works (Rs 109.65 crore), industries (Rs 83.20 crore), rural development (Rs 175.67 crore), information technology (Rs 95.20 crore), planning & coordination (Rs 97.37 crore) and forest & environment (Rs 76.58 crore).