Use of budgetary funds remains a challenge in next quarter

uraghuvanshi@hindustantimes.com

The Uttar Pradesh government is struggling to utilise budgetary funds, including those earmarked in the annual and supplementary budgets, even as fresh guidelines have been issued to departments for issuing sanctions for funds earmarked in the second supplementary budget for 2024-2025.

A considerable gap has been witnessed between the budgetary estimates and actual expenditure of various departments over the years.

This is evident from the state government’s Accounts At A Glance (2023-2024), which the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India presented in the state legislature in the recently concluded winter session.

The CAG observed that the state government estimated a revenue expenditure of ₹5.21 lakh crore in the annual budget for 2023-2024 though it could only use ₹4.29 lakh crore, indicating a gap of 18 per cent over budgetary estimates. The gap (in revenue expenditure) was 17 per cent in 2021-2022 and 19 per cent in 2022-2023.

In terms of capital expenditure (on the creation of development infrastructure), the budgetary estimates and actual expenditure reflected a wider gap. The budgetary estimates projected capital expenditure of ₹1.66 lakh crore, but the actual expenditure remained at ₹1.18 lakh crore thereby indicating a gap of 29 per cent under this head. This gap was 38 per cent in 2021-2022 and 30 per cent in 2022-2023.

Those aware of the development said chief minister Yogi Adityanath and minister for finance Suresh Khanna were likely to review the progress of utilisation of funds by different departments in the coming weeks to ensure that the budgetary funds earmarked in 2024-2025 didn’t lapse.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary (finance) Deepak Kumar, in a government order issued on December 27, asked several departments to release funds (for the remaining period of the current financial year) to the limit of actual use by them in 2024-2025.

Those aware of the developments said most of the state government’s departments had not been able to use even half of the funds in the first six months and major departments were able to make use of only 40-45 per cent of funds. The use of funds is likely to remain in focus in the last quarter of 2024-2025.

Kumar, in his directives to various departments, also reiterated that they should follow the finance department’s directives for austerity given from time to time. “Ensure compliance of finance department’s directives issued from time to time about austerity, and financial sanctions should be issued keeping them in view,” said Kumar in his directives to all the departments issued on Friday.