Kolkata: The Finance department has delegated financial powers to administrative departments for granting administrative approval and financial sanction of new projects or revising existing ones, with the concurrence of the financial advisor of the respective departments.
The move aims to expedite the execution of departmental projects across the state. The latest notification also marks a revision and downward modification of the previous financial sanction limits.
According to a notification issued by the Finance department, the additional chief secretary, principal secretary, or secretary in-charge of an administrative department, along with the financial
advisor’s concurrence, can now grant administrative approval and financial sanction up to Rs 3 crore for the following departments: Public Works Department (PWD), Irrigation and Waterways (I&W), Public Health Engineering (PHE), Water Resources Investigation and Development (WRID), Health and Family Welfare (H&FW), Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UD&MA) and Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD).
In the case of Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs (PUA), North Bengal Development (NBD) and Sundarban Affairs (SA) departments, the financial sanction limit has been set at Rs 1 crore. For the departments of Housing, Industry and Commerce, MSME and Textiles, and Home and Hill Affairs, the approval cap is Rs 75 lakh. All other state departments have a maximum limit of Rs 50 lakh.
“If a department needs to take up projects exceeding the sanctioned financial limit, approval from the state Finance department will be mandatory,” a Nabanna official.
A similar notification was issued by the state government on August 28, 2023. At that time, the financial sanction limit was Rs 5 crore for departments like PWD, PHE, I&W, WRID, UD&MA, H&FW and P&RD.
The cap for NBD, PUA and SA departments was Rs 3 crore, while Housing, MSME & Textiles, Home and Hill Affairs, and Industry & Commerce departments had a limit of Rs 1.5 crore.