Centre warns Raj bureaucracy of ‘wrongful activities’ in financial mgmt!
Jaipur: A Central Government’s letter forwarded to Chief Secretary Usha Sharma has made the state bureaucracy a ‘worrisome’ lot. The letter has been forwarded, as it is, to all the ACS, Principal Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, Collectors and Heads of Department ‘for information and necessary action’. The language and contents of the letter have ‘warned’ the state bureaucrats not to indulge in wrongful activities.
The letter has been shot by the Government of India’s Finance Secretary, TV Somanathan. The letter reads that the Central government “permits borrowings under Article 293 of Constitution of India to State Governments. Also releases funds under various centrally sponsored schemes and the recommendations of Finance Commission.”
According to the letter, Centre, for its aforementioned actions, relies on information given by the states, which are certified by concerned officers. However, it has been seen that in several matters, the state governments have given wrong information which has been certified by competent officers in the states, which amounts to ‘falsification’ or ‘gross negligence’ on the officer’s part.
The Finance Secretary has said that the “wrong information led to heavy over-borrowing by a state during the tenure of a subsequent government, causing difficulties.” According to the letter, it is mentioned in the All India Services Conduct Rules that “Civil Servants are responsible to tender proper and factual advice and are requested to sign certificates and provide information truthfully and correctly.”
The IAS officers have been informed in the letter that “If falsification of financial information or provision of wrong information in a grossly negligent manner is detected” then the Finance Ministry can take the following action against the officers:
- Names of such officers will be sent to DoPT so that their name is not considered for empanelment, central deputation, inter-state deputation, foreign training, assignment, etc.
- The matter may also be taken up with the state government to initiate disciplinary proceedings in such cases.
According to subject experts, the Central Government is looking to curtail the state government’s ‘whims’ in financial management and also to issue a ‘clear warning’ to IAS officers not to indulge in wrong activities to appease their ‘masters’. It is perhaps for the first time that such a letter, issuing a warning, in recent times, has been shot from the Centre and therefore, the higher bureaucracy is a worried lot.
