GURUGRAM: The department of urban local bodies (ULB), Haryana, has directed all municipal corporations not to enhance the estimates of development work without prior approval from the administration. If the estimates of development works amounting to Rs 1 crore or above are enhanced, they will be sent to the local audit department for pre-auditing with immediate effect, it has said in a letter to the civic bodies.
MCG has also issued directions to its departments to follow the order. While some officials from the corporation said the move would help streamline the system since estimates are sometimes inflated, others said that this would cause delays in development works since the budget of a majority of works has to be increased when they are carried out on the ground.
“We have received a letter from the ULB department stating that any increase in the original estimates should be done only with approvals from the administration. Any hike in estimates to the tune of Rs 1 crore or above will be pre-audited by the directorate of local audit department in Panchkula. This will keep inflated budgets in check,” said a senior MCG official.
Meanwhile, city mayor Madhu Azad, who is also the chairperson of the MCG finance and contracts committee, which gives administrative approvals to key development works in the city, said she hasn’t received the order yet. “If the move causes delay in development works, I will take it up with the ULB department. Development works should not suffer,” she added.
Ravinder Yadav, councillor of ward number 3, said, “While the intention of the ULB department is to bring transparency, the move will cause inordinate delay in development works. On an average, two projects out of 10 usually require enhancement of their original estimates. Getting it pre-audited will be a time-taking exercise. We run from pillar to post to get our files approved in MCG. Imagine the time it would take to clear files in Chandigarh. The audit team will also have to visit the sites for verification, so it is going to cause delays.”
MCG has also issued directions to its departments to follow the order. While some officials from the corporation said the move would help streamline the system since estimates are sometimes inflated, others said that this would cause delays in development works since the budget of a majority of works has to be increased when they are carried out on the ground.
“We have received a letter from the ULB department stating that any increase in the original estimates should be done only with approvals from the administration. Any hike in estimates to the tune of Rs 1 crore or above will be pre-audited by the directorate of local audit department in Panchkula. This will keep inflated budgets in check,” said a senior MCG official.
Meanwhile, city mayor Madhu Azad, who is also the chairperson of the MCG finance and contracts committee, which gives administrative approvals to key development works in the city, said she hasn’t received the order yet. “If the move causes delay in development works, I will take it up with the ULB department. Development works should not suffer,” she added.
Ravinder Yadav, councillor of ward number 3, said, “While the intention of the ULB department is to bring transparency, the move will cause inordinate delay in development works. On an average, two projects out of 10 usually require enhancement of their original estimates. Getting it pre-audited will be a time-taking exercise. We run from pillar to post to get our files approved in MCG. Imagine the time it would take to clear files in Chandigarh. The audit team will also have to visit the sites for verification, so it is going to cause delays.”