West Bengal has doubled the financial approval powers of several administrative departments, raising the sanction ceiling for key infrastructure departments from Rs 3 crore to Rs 6 crore in a move intended to speed up government schemes and development projects.
The revised limits were notified by the state Finance Department in an order issued on Wednesday. The change covers the Public Works Department, Irrigation and Waterways, Public Health Engineering, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Health and Family Welfare, and Panchayat and Rural Development departments.
The North Bengal Development, Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs and Sundarban Affairs departments have also received higher approval powers. Their ceiling has been increased from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore.
For all other administrative departments, the spending approval limit has been doubled from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore, according to the order reported by the Times of India.
Delegated financial powers allow departments to approve expenditure and sanction projects within prescribed limits without referring every proposal to the Finance Department for separate clearance. The revised ceilings are expected to reduce procedural delays and give departments greater operational flexibility, particularly while implementing public infrastructure and development works.
A senior state government official said the decision would enable quicker decisions at the departmental level. The change is relevant to projects administered by departments responsible for roads and public buildings, water supply and sanitation infrastructure, irrigation works, municipal development, healthcare facilities and rural development.
The order does not remove financial oversight. Departments must obtain the concurrence of their respective financial advisers before granting fresh or revised Administrative Approval and Financial Sanction, or AAFS, for projects.
They must also ensure that adequate budgetary provision is available before approving expenditure. The departments have been directed to account for committed liabilities arising from projects and works already under way before granting fresh sanctions.
The safeguards mean that departments can take decisions on projects within the enhanced limits, but the approvals remain subject to budget availability and financial scrutiny. The order therefore combines higher departmental discretion with requirements to assess existing obligations and obtain financial adviser concurrence.
The revised powers apply across departments with different roles in the state’s infrastructure and development administration. The higher ceiling for infrastructure-related departments is expected to affect the handling of project sanctions that previously required a separate Finance Department clearance once they crossed the lower threshold.
The order’s implementation will depend on departments using the expanded limits while following the requirements for financial adviser concurrence, budgetary provision and accounting for committed liabilities.
