Thanks to the state finance department, the textile department’s previous year’s budgetary allocation of approximately Rs 30 crore got lapsed
Finance ministry says a ‘non-existent’ cabinet sub-committee has to give the nod for the clearance
Thanks to the state government’s finance department, the textile department’s previous year’s budgetary allocation of approximately Rs30 crore got lapsed. Even in the current year, the department could not spend a penny!
In the ensuing winter session beginning December 4, when all state departments will place their allocations before House, the textile department will officially put on record that it could not spend anything.
“Blame it on the finance department,’ says Textile Minister Satish Chaturvedi.
Talking to DNA, Chaturvedi said, “This happens because the Finance Department’s insisted that it will not release budgetary allocation of the Textiles Department without getting clearance from a sub-committee of ministers, which in fact does not exist at all.”
Chaturvedi added, “In the first place, this is a neglected department which can only formulate policies. The entire private sector in textiles business that is presently booming is out of the purview of the department. Department only deals with spinning and power loom in the state. This makes department ineffective to a great extent.”
It so happened during Alliance Government of Shiv Sena (SS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that then Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde had constituted a cabinet sub-committee under his own chairmanship to disburse capital finance for the co-operative spinning mills.
This trend continued in the first tenure of the Democratic Front government when it came to power in 1999. Then sub-committee was constituted under the chairmanship of then deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
However, when the DF government bounced back to power in 2004, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh did not constitute the sub-committee. As per the customs and traditions of the government, it is the textile minister who should operate the department and clear disbursement of funds. However, it is alleged that NCP ministers are interested in getting more and more funds sanctioned for the spinning mills run by NCP leaders. (Interestingly, Chaturvedi is a Congress minister and not many Congress leaders run spinning mills.)
Sources close to finance minister Jayant Patil said, “Let the textiles department submit its proposals to the finance department. Then we will have a fresh look at them. The department hasn’t received required proposals from textiles.”
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