IMPHAL, February 17: As the policies of the State government have totally paralysed every department, the BJP Manipur Pradesh strongly demands a white paper of the annual plan budget by February 28, stated BJP Manipur Pradesh general secretary (Administration) M Asnikumar.
During an exclusive interview with IFP, M Asnikuamr alleged that the Congress government has continued to fraudulently siphon off funds from the annual plan budget during the last 13 years. It has never followed the norms laid down by the Finance Ministry till date, he added.
Further stating that during the UPA government, the Department of Expenditure of the Union Ministry of Finance issued an office memorandum about guidelines of the utilization of annual allocated State plan budgets. The memorandum order 7(2)/E coord 2013 on September 18, 2013 says that only 1/3 i.e. 33 percent of the Annual State budget can be used during the last quarter of every financial year, with only 13% of the plan budget allowed to be used in the last month, i.e. March.
Every State should submit monthly report of the expenditures from the month of April till the end of the financial year to the Ministry of Finance as per the norms. Unfortunately, the State government hasn`™t submitted its monthly expenditure report transparently but has omitted the anomalies in the annual budget allocations for 13 years with the help of the UPA government at the Centre, he said.
It may be mentioned here that the annual budget allocation of 2014-15 was only 29 percent by the end of January, 2015. And it is astonishing as to how the remaining amount of the annual budget was reportedly used in the last few days by the government. If it is used forcibly, it will be against the norms of the Central finance ministry, alleged M Asnikumar.
The UPA government had given a free hand to the Congress government in the State but PM Modi led NDA government is strict on financial management and wants transparency, he said, adding such malpractices will not be tolerated anymore. The State government is paralysed in every step of development without being able to take up any developmental works with the annual budget allocations. We see many pending construction works of various infrastructure development projects left unfinished in our State, Asnikumar said.
BJP Manipur has doubts even on the reported utilization of 60 percent of the annual plan budget by the State government till date, he said, adding the government`™s practice of using a common account number 8449 to transfer funds by the end of every financial year during the last 13 years can`™t be found anywhere in any State of India.
He further said that BJP is dead against the manner in which the State government is utilizing the annual plan budget. Every developmental work should be laid down by the Central Public Works department to contractors. But in Manipur, the Chief Minister and other ministers award contract works to their own peoples which means that the PWD in the State is totally defunct.
The State government can`™t provide safe drinking water in the heart of the city, then how can it reached out to the hills area and villages, Asnikumar asked.