Finding holes in the computation method of the Centre for calculating the number of BPL families, Bihar government today demanded setting up of a commission to fix the criteria to define the people living below poverty line.
"Centre's criteria with regard to computation of below poverty line (BPL) families is not correct and has many shortcomings which need a relook," Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi claimed.
He demanded setting up of a commission to fix the criteria to define the people living below poverty line saying "the Centre's criteria is marks based, which in most cases have adversely affected the poor itself".
Modi, who also holds Finance portfolio, said the state government has identified 1.50 lakh families living below the poverty line whereas Centre's figure stood at 60 lakh.link
Showing posts with label Sushil Kumar Modi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sushil Kumar Modi. Show all posts
Friday 28 August 2009
Friday 27 February 2009
Bihar,s is a hi-tech budget
When Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who has also the finance portfolio with him, tabled the state budget for the financial year 2009-10 in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, few realised that an old system of preparing budget, which was in vogue since independence, has been done away with.
The old theory of centralised control over every small and little item of expenditure leading to the creation of over 400 `unit codes’ has been replaced by a budget built on `object units’. The number of `unit codes’ has been reduced to just 62, and the 1,500 pages of budget documents were generated by computer. All this reduced the budget-preparation time from six months to just one month.
“According to the new budget-making theory, the head of an office is the finance manager of its establishment, and the budget is designed on the basis of `object heads’ which define the objective of the expenditure,” explained IAS officer and additional finance commissioner Arunish Chawla.
Chawla, who has done PhD from the prestigious London School of Economics, played a major role in the formulation of the new system of finance management in the state.
Officers and employees concerned recalled how tiresome the budget-making process used to be earlier. Expenditure provisions were complicated and calculations a time-taking exercise. For instance, for minor repairs in government buildings, provisions had to be made from 35 `unit heads’. For meeting office expenses, provisions had to be made from 20 `unit heads’. “There were different heads to purchase food for dogs and horses,” one official said, adding if one had to make an additional provision, he had to go through the tiresome process of re-appropriation.
“The number of operational sub-heads has been brought down by 25%. This, coupled with the corrections in the `unit heads’, has simplified the process at least 10 times,” Chawla said, stressing that the simplification will boost the state machinery’s ability to deliver.
No less important is the fact that the new budget system has been integrated with the computerised treasury system. “From April 1 onwards, heads of the departments can get information not only about their budget but also about the actual expenditure against their allotment 24X7 online,” Chawla said and added the process of budget allocation, allotment, passing of bills, generation of treasury voucher numbers and compilation of AG accounts will now be carried out without manual intervention.link
The old theory of centralised control over every small and little item of expenditure leading to the creation of over 400 `unit codes’ has been replaced by a budget built on `object units’. The number of `unit codes’ has been reduced to just 62, and the 1,500 pages of budget documents were generated by computer. All this reduced the budget-preparation time from six months to just one month.
“According to the new budget-making theory, the head of an office is the finance manager of its establishment, and the budget is designed on the basis of `object heads’ which define the objective of the expenditure,” explained IAS officer and additional finance commissioner Arunish Chawla.
Chawla, who has done PhD from the prestigious London School of Economics, played a major role in the formulation of the new system of finance management in the state.
Officers and employees concerned recalled how tiresome the budget-making process used to be earlier. Expenditure provisions were complicated and calculations a time-taking exercise. For instance, for minor repairs in government buildings, provisions had to be made from 35 `unit heads’. For meeting office expenses, provisions had to be made from 20 `unit heads’. “There were different heads to purchase food for dogs and horses,” one official said, adding if one had to make an additional provision, he had to go through the tiresome process of re-appropriation.
“The number of operational sub-heads has been brought down by 25%. This, coupled with the corrections in the `unit heads’, has simplified the process at least 10 times,” Chawla said, stressing that the simplification will boost the state machinery’s ability to deliver.
No less important is the fact that the new budget system has been integrated with the computerised treasury system. “From April 1 onwards, heads of the departments can get information not only about their budget but also about the actual expenditure against their allotment 24X7 online,” Chawla said and added the process of budget allocation, allotment, passing of bills, generation of treasury voucher numbers and compilation of AG accounts will now be carried out without manual intervention.link
Saturday 7 February 2009
Bihar government to dismiss striking employees
A month after over 300,000 of its employees went on strike, the Bihar government has decided to dismiss them, officials said on Saturday.
The government would begin to serve dismissal notices to striking employees on Saturday, said Amir Subhani, secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms department. The notices would be sent to the employees' homes.
According to official sources, a decision to serve dismissal notices, under section 8(2) of the Bihar Government Servant Conduct Rules, 1976, was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary RJM Pillai.
"Some top officials were busy till late on Friday night preparing the final list of employees to be served notices," the sources said.
The move comes a day after the government told the Patna High Court that it would not hold negotiations with the associations of the striking employees until the month-long stir was withdrawn.
The employees went on an indefinite strike on Jan 7 demanding implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in "letter and spirit" after failure of talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio.
The government issued the striking employees show-cause notices on Jan 22, a day after the deadline to resume work lapsed, warning them of action including denial of salary and suspension from work. However, the striking employees did not return to work as their demands were not accepted by the government.
Modi, who refused to accept the employees' demands because of a funds crunch, had earlier ruled out any possibility of the government negotiating with the striking employees.
The strike has affected the functioning of the government departments and health services across the state. Most of the government offices, particularly the treasury and registration departments, wear a deserted look.
However, the leaders of the striking employees said that strike will continue despite the threats to dismiss them.
Earlier, the striking employees ignored the state government's "no work, no pay" warning. "We will not end our strike unless our demands are accepted by the government," said Manjul Kumar Das, general secretary of the Bihar State Non-Gazetted Employees Federation (BSNGEF).link
The government would begin to serve dismissal notices to striking employees on Saturday, said Amir Subhani, secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms department. The notices would be sent to the employees' homes.
According to official sources, a decision to serve dismissal notices, under section 8(2) of the Bihar Government Servant Conduct Rules, 1976, was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary RJM Pillai.
"Some top officials were busy till late on Friday night preparing the final list of employees to be served notices," the sources said.
The move comes a day after the government told the Patna High Court that it would not hold negotiations with the associations of the striking employees until the month-long stir was withdrawn.
The employees went on an indefinite strike on Jan 7 demanding implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in "letter and spirit" after failure of talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio.
The government issued the striking employees show-cause notices on Jan 22, a day after the deadline to resume work lapsed, warning them of action including denial of salary and suspension from work. However, the striking employees did not return to work as their demands were not accepted by the government.
Modi, who refused to accept the employees' demands because of a funds crunch, had earlier ruled out any possibility of the government negotiating with the striking employees.
The strike has affected the functioning of the government departments and health services across the state. Most of the government offices, particularly the treasury and registration departments, wear a deserted look.
However, the leaders of the striking employees said that strike will continue despite the threats to dismiss them.
Earlier, the striking employees ignored the state government's "no work, no pay" warning. "We will not end our strike unless our demands are accepted by the government," said Manjul Kumar Das, general secretary of the Bihar State Non-Gazetted Employees Federation (BSNGEF).link
Friday 30 January 2009
Four die in Bihar hospital as strike cripples medical services
Four patients died in a Bihar hospital Thursday as health services were crippled due to the ongoing indefinite strike by the government employees including health officials, officials said Friday.
A young woman who had just given birth, was one of the four patients who died due to lack of treatment at Jawahar Lal Nehru medical college and hospital in Bhagalpur district.
Official sources said Nisha Devi, in her 20s, died due to excess bleeding following child-birth in the absence of proper treatment. She was admitted to the hospital Thursday morning. Three other patients also died due to lack of medical attention.
The functioning of the state government offices including the health department have been hit by the ongoing indefinite strike by government employees, which continued for the 24th day Friday, officials here said.
"The strike has crippled medical services across the state, which has most hit poor people who have no money to go to private hospitals for treatment," an official of the state health department admitted.
Reports reaching here from different district headquarters say functioning of hospitals has been affected due to the strike.
More than 300,000 government employees went on strike in Bihar, demanding implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in "letter and spirit", after the failure of talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio.
Modi, who refused to accept the demands because of a funds crunch, has ruled out any possibility of the state government negotiating with the striking employees.
Earlier this week, when employees refused demands to return to work, the government hinted at disciplinary action against the strikers.
It has also served them with show-cause notices and officials said action could be taken against those who do not reply to the notices. link
A young woman who had just given birth, was one of the four patients who died due to lack of treatment at Jawahar Lal Nehru medical college and hospital in Bhagalpur district.
Official sources said Nisha Devi, in her 20s, died due to excess bleeding following child-birth in the absence of proper treatment. She was admitted to the hospital Thursday morning. Three other patients also died due to lack of medical attention.
The functioning of the state government offices including the health department have been hit by the ongoing indefinite strike by government employees, which continued for the 24th day Friday, officials here said.
"The strike has crippled medical services across the state, which has most hit poor people who have no money to go to private hospitals for treatment," an official of the state health department admitted.
Reports reaching here from different district headquarters say functioning of hospitals has been affected due to the strike.
More than 300,000 government employees went on strike in Bihar, demanding implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in "letter and spirit", after the failure of talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio.
Modi, who refused to accept the demands because of a funds crunch, has ruled out any possibility of the state government negotiating with the striking employees.
Earlier this week, when employees refused demands to return to work, the government hinted at disciplinary action against the strikers.
It has also served them with show-cause notices and officials said action could be taken against those who do not reply to the notices. link
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