Fast nods to fix backlog of 180 projects

Well over a hundred government proposals are awaiting Cabinet approval and the huge pendency is learnt to have sparked a discussion over ways to clear the backlog.ET has learnt that the top echelons of the government are considering options such as delegating some of the approval process either to the finance ministry or even to a Group of Ministers-like structure to fastrack things, at least temporarily. It is gathered that the finance ministry made a detailed presentation on the subject .All schemes and projects that cost more than a '1,000 crore must go to the Union Cabinet for clearance -- a new ceiling, incidentally, brought in by the NDA government in 2014 towards cutting down pendency in the Cabinet.However, as per assessments made 2-3 weeks back, there were 180 proposals awaiting Cabinet nod, those in the know told ET. With such a long queue before the Cabinet, a GoM or committee model is being examined to expedite the process. A tentative start on a GoM model has been initiated.An 'informal' GoM is learnt to have been formed under the chairmanship of defence minister Rajnath Singh to assess a major set of centrally-sponsored schemes for socially disadvantaged groups which are proposed to be merged into a single scheme for the next five years.The idea is to have the revised scheme vetted closely by this GoM so that the Cabinet approval process is fast tracked. The exercise is underway. There is also a proposal to consider delegating more approval powers to the finance ministry as a temporary arrangement to clear the backlog, sources said. Queries emailed to the finance ministry and Cabinet secretariat by ET did not elicit any response.A big chunk of the pendency at the Cabinet is, in fact, due to centrally-sponsored schemes and central sector schemes (CSS) which need financial approvals to continue in operation.The 2021-22 to 2025-26 continuation of several CSS schemes is currently awaiting cabinet approval. The long wait is partly due to the changed pattern and new rule book brought in this year for the operation of CSS schemes. Since the revision/continuation of the CSS schemes for the next five years only started in July this year, all of them have come simultaneously to the government for approval, sources said. While a few of them have come through, there are many more waiting. The issue is becoming one of concern as pending these financial approvals, overall government spending is lagging, even as we enter the third quarter of the financial year.The finance ministry recently did away with the spending curbs it had imposed so far on various ministries on account of Covid-19 and asked them to step up capex. The reason: while the 2021-22 budget estimate put out a ' 5.54 lakh crore figure for the year with a 35% growth over last year, the actual capex in the first two quarters has only shown a 15% growth -- at Rs 1.28 lakh crore.A September 20 communication from the Cabinet Secretary to secretaries of all ministries has underlined the recent directions from the PM on the issue. The Cabinet Secretary said that capital expenditure needs to be 'speeded up to meet the target of the current financial year' and had pointed out that progress made by several ministries was quite unsatisfactory.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2YpmWRA