Jharkhand state cabinet is accused of approving two mega projects in road and power transmission sectors without engaging the finance department of the state government.
The cabinet is said to have cleared a proposal from the road department for construction of the Rs 3,000 crore Ranchi-Bokaro Expressway. Also, it is said to have approved the energy department’s Rs 1,600 transmission line project without the clearance from the finance department.
The cabinet is also said to have revised the salaries of the members of women’s commission ignoring the objections of the finance department. The cabinet hiked the salary of the chairperson and members of the women’s commission from Rs 24,500 to Rs 70,380 and Rs 22,400 to Rs 63,850, respectively.
Some ministers and senior IAS officers are against this as the cabinet is trying to take advantage of a rule which should only be used in case of an emergency and not on a regular basis.
The normal process is that in case of a project which costs more than Rs 20 crore, an estimate with project detail will be prepared by the department. It will then be approved by the departmental minister and sent to empowered committee headed by development commissioner.
Once the project gets a nod from the empowered committee, it goes to the chief minister for his approval after which it goes to the finance department for its approval. When the finance department approves the project, it goes to the cabinet for approval.
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