Govt trims Chandigarh Administration's financial powers

In a major shift, the UT Administration will now need prior approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for works worth Rs 1.5 crore and above. Effectively, all financial powers delegated to local officers have been withdrawn and transferred back to the Centre.

The UT Administrator issued revised financial powers, overturning the order of May 9 that had enhanced the financial powers of UT officers. The financial powers granted in May have been cancelled and the Centre has again assumed control over the sanctioning and tendering of most schemes and projects.

Earlier, the Administration had powers to approve projects up to Rs 100 crore. Now, even relatively small expenditures of over Rs 1.5 crore will need MHA’s clearance. The move follows a recent communication from the MHA to the UT Administration directing the transfer of financial authority back to the ministry.

Officials admitted the change will likely increase bureaucratic delays, as all proposals will now have to be routed to Delhi. While ongoing projects will remain unaffected, all new schemes will now be processed under the revised rules.

The technical sanction powers for special repairs and original works have not been altered. Executive engineers will continue to have a limit of Rs 30 lakh, superintending engineers Rs 1.8 crore, and chief engineers Rs 4 crore for detailed estimates.

However, for works involving negotiations or consultancy, the ministry approval will be mandatory. For normal tenders without negotiations, the Chief Secretary retains powers up to Rs 100 crore, the Secretary Rs 30 crore, and heads of departments Rs 4 crore.

The May 9 order had enhanced the powers of heads of departments from Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore for open or limited tenders, and for secretaries from Rs 15 crore to Rs 30 crore. All these enhancements have now been reversed, except for Public–Private Partnership (PPP) projects, which are not covered under the new instructions.