4 days ago
Delhi govt enhances financial power of department heads
New Delhi Chief minister Rekha Gupta. (HT Archive)
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday announced that the government has enhanced the financial power of heads of departments (HoDs) and administrative secretaries working under the government.
The move will not only accelerate good governance but will also expedite the implementation of various government schemes, ensuring their timely completion, the CM said in a statement.
'Administrative Secretaries will now be able to directly procure all IT-related items, as well as undertake repairs, rentals, and maintenance, in addition to purchasing equipment and other related items without procedural delays. This is the first revision in officers' financial powers in nearly six years, with the last amendment having been made on 7 August 2019,' the CM said.
The move is aimed at infrastructure development, for which the annual budget of the government has nearly doubled to ₹1 lakh crore from ₹54,800 crore at the time of the last revision, in 2019. The enhanced financial powers are intended to ensure this expanded allocation is utilised effectively, eliminating procedural delays, expediting departmental work, and enabling projects to be executed and completed within their planned timelines, officials said.
CM Gupta said that in special cases, administrative secretaries have been granted full financial powers, covering the appointment of individual consultants, consultancies, professionals, Project Management Units (PMUs), and other specialists.
'This change in financial powers has been made to protect public trust and to accelerate Delhi's pace of development. It is our responsibility to ensure that public funds are used at the right time, in the right place, and for the right purpose. This decision will not only strengthen good governance but will also make service delivery to the public more effective and timely, while eliminating delays caused by unnecessary interdepartmental movement of files,' the CM said.
