Himanta Biswa Sarma reviews budgetary spending; directs officials to spend allocated funds

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Assam Finance and Transformation & Development minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Saturday reviewed budgetary spending and instructed officials to ensure proper and time-frame implementation of schemes and fund spending during a video conference at Janata Bhavan in Guwahati.

The Assam Finance Minister, who also holds the Transformation & Development, PWD and Health portfolios, asked officials to ensure entire budgetary allocation for 2015-16 fiscal is spent before Aug 15 this year. He also directed district officials, including the deputy commissioners, to begin spending budgetary allocation made for the 2016-17 financial year within the next three months besides asking officials to complete all schemes that are below Rs 10 lakh at the earliest.

If fund released for the 2015-16 fiscal is deposited in deputy commissioners’ accounts is not spent within Aug 15, the remaining amount will have to be returned, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma further stated.

He further announced that MLA funds will be released only when entire money released for 2016-17 and 70% funds allocated for 2017-18 financial year is spent, Himanta Biswa Sarma added during the video conference with DCs and departmental district officials. Several legislators were also present with the district officials during the video conference.

Himanta Biswa Sarma interacting with officials through video conferencing.

Himanta Biswa Sarma also announced legislators can also donate constituency funds to ‘Naamghars’ and ‘Satras’ since they will now be considered cultural centres and not religious institutions.

He further announced that two villages in every assembly constituency in Assam will be eligible for a 10-crore-rupee fund (Rs 5 crore for each village) under the new schemed named Assam Adarsh Gram Yojana that was announced by the Finance Minister in his last budget speech. The scheme will be formally launched on October 2 this year.

He also attended a review meeting of Assam PWD at the GMCH auditorium later in the afternoon.