Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst the looming financial crisis in the state, the government has brought down the upper limit on repayment of Treasury bill from Rs.5 lakhs to Rs.1 lakh. From now on, repayment of bills exceeding Rs.1 lakh will require special approval from the Finance Department.
This is the third time that the government is bringing stringent control over the Treasury in a span of three months, reflecting the seriousness of the financial health of the state.
On July 30, the government had brought down the upper limit of bill repayment amount from Rs.25 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs. This was brought down further to Rs.5 lakhs on August 19. Now it stands at Rs.1 lakh.
It is believed that this stringent control will affect the expenditure on salaries, pensions, and the purchase of medicines. The Finance Department said that the extra expenditure during Onam festival season and the reduction in the share of central government loans have contributed to the current situation. The department revealed that Rs.19,000 crores was spent for the payment of salaries, pensions and expenditures during Onam season.
The Finance Department has also given strict warnings against the practice of by-passing the upper limit of bill repayment by breaking the bill amount into bills with lower amounts. The department has cautioned against this practice and said that strict scrutiny must be done while repaying the bill amount. The Treasury Department must make sure that bills with higher amount are not broken into smaller amounts.
Before April the upper limit of bill repayment stood at Rs.1 crore. Within a span of just seven months, the government has brought down the upper limit to Rs.1 lakh.
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