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| Modi's pledge to evoke financial discipline torn apart | | JK Assembly, Council function without AOs, CAOs | | Early Times Report
jammu, Nov 15: At a time when Prime Minister Narender Modi is trying to enforce financial discipline and strict adherence to norms set by the government in running financial matters, the two prestigious institutions of democracy- Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council in Jammu and Kashmir continue to be without Chief Accounts Officers or the Accounts Officers, leave alone Financial Advisors, presence of whom has become mandatory as per the rules framed by the J&K Finance Ministry.
As these rules have been shelved in both the Houses, BJP is not just flouting them but also negating what Prime Minister is laying thrust on.
Sources said after ET consistently reported absence of the Accounts officers for supervising the financial matters in state legislature last year, the then Parliamentary Affairs Minister and the Finance Minister upon intervention of the late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed swiftly acted into the matter and directed Finance Department to depute the Accounts Officers in both the Houses.
The then Commissioner Secretary Navin K Choudhary immediately ordered postings of the two AOs , sources said adding that since these officers have to be from the gazzetted rank, one Bilal Ahmad Bilal was posted as AO Legislative Assembly and another officer Arshad Ahmad Lone was sent by the Finance department as AO Legislative Council.
However, the tenure of both the officers, perhaps as a matter of record in any government department, lasted for just a few months, sources said, adding that held these posts without delivering anything not because they could not handle the new assignment but they were not allowed to do their duty in a free and transparent manner even as their postings were effected well by the government order No. 100-F of 2015 dated 24-6-2015, by none other than the Commissioner Secretary and a copy of the order was sent to Secretaries of both the Houses.
These postings were ordered on the intervention of the two senior ministers. They had taken serious note of the fact that there were no Accounts Officers in both the Houses whereas it is mandatory to supervise financial matters, particularly the expenditure aspect besides the drawing and disbursing part of the system by a well qualified and specifically trained Accounts officers for all government departments.
While the two officers designated for new postings were given drawing and disbursing powers, they were not allowed to use these powers by a lobby that was reluctant and hesitant towards their presence, sources said adding that in a matter of just less than three months they made their exit, something which was again done in a hush hush manner by the authorities at the helm in both the Houses.
Till date it remains a mystery as to where these officers were sent back without any explicit, rather inexplicable reason by the authorities.
Pertinent to mention here is that under government order No. 118-F of 2015 dated 10-7-2015, the Finance Department had directed that in order to ensure proper financial discipline and budgetary control over expenditure-(i) wherever the Accounts Officers /CAOs are posted, the drawing and disbursing powers of that office or institution shall be executed by them, (ii)In case the Administrative Department has delegated the drawing/disbursing powers to some other officer other than these officers, the same shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and delegated in favour of AOs/CAOs, and more importantly, (iii) the treasury officers will not entertain any bills /other instruments of payment in case same is not signed by AOs/CAOs. However, both the Houses flouted this order in letter and spirit. |
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