PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has extended the term of the Cabinet Advisory Committee (CAC) till April 30, ahead of the expiry of its present term on March 31. The financial powers of the CAC have also been raised from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, while that of individual ministers has been enhanced from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.
An office memorandum issued by Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma on Thursday states, “The CM is pleased to direct that the arrangements made for the transaction of business of the government vide the office memorandum dated March 8, 2018 in his absence on medical grounds shall be continued for a further period with effect from April 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018 with the modification that the financial powers of the CAC have been enhanced from rupees five crore to rupees ten crore and that of the individual minister from rupees one crore to rupees two crore.”
A separate office memorandum issued by the Finance Department on Thursday states that all proposals involving expenditure sanctions up to Rs 200 lakh shall be disposed by the Minister of the Department concerned. “All such proposals shall be processed in its normal course through the division concerned of the Finance Department. The arrangement shall be in force up to April 30, 2018 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. These instructions shall come into force with effect from April 1, 2018,” states the memorandum signed by Additional Secretary Michael D’Souza.
The Chief Secretary on March 8 had issued an OM on the constitution of the CAC, an interim arrangement in absence of Parrikar, to guide the State administration. The CAC consists of Ministers Ramakrishan (Sudin) Dhavalikar (MGP), Francis D’Souza (BJP) and Vijai Sardesai (GFP) and is empowered to decide on certain important financial matters even as the committee shall consult the Finance Department before taking any financial decisions.
The earlier OM stated that the committee is restricted from interfering in departments like Finance, Home and General Administration, and granted it financial powers up to Rs five crore, and had set its term till March 31.
