Lucknow, Jan 2 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed all departments to accelerate budget utilisation in the current financial year and fixed clear accountability of officers at every level to ensure timely spending of allocated funds.
Chairing a review meeting of the finance department, the chief minister assessed budget expenditure for 2025–26, with detailed presentations by 20 major departments having the highest allocations. The review covered government approvals, departmental fund allocations and actual expenditure against sanctioned amounts, according to an official statement.
Adityanath warned that delays in budget utilisation adversely affect project completion and deprive citizens of the intended benefits of government schemes. Stressing accountability, he said, “For timely budget spending, responsibility and answerability must be fixed by assigning a specific officer at every level.”
He underlined that indecision and procedural delays often lead to underutilisation of funds and asked senior officers to develop the capacity to take prompt decisions. Departments where expenditure progress is slow were instructed to immediately speed up spending and ensure schemes are implemented on the ground without delay.
The chief minister also directed departmental ministers and senior officers to improve coordination and hold monthly review meetings to identify bottlenecks and resolve issues related to expenditure. He asked the finance department to promptly release pending portions of budget allocations stuck due to procedural reasons, warning that any delay in releasing sanctioned funds would not be tolerated.
On centrally sponsored schemes, Adityanath asked ministers, additional chief secretaries and principal secretaries to actively pursue the release of funds from the Centre. “Senior officers should personally visit New Delhi, write to the concerned ministries and follow up through official communication to ensure timely receipt of central assistance,” he said, also directing the chief secretary to facilitate coordination with the Centre.
The CM further instructed the finance department to begin preparations for the 2026–27 budget well in advance. Departments were asked to review their demands in consultation with the finance department and assess expenditure patterns over the past five years to ensure realistic and implementation-ready allocations.
The meeting concluded with directions for strict monitoring of budget utilisation and enforcement of accountability at all administrative levels, the statement said. PTI KIS DV DV
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