Jammu, July 31(GNS): The Finance Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, has issued strict guidelines prohibiting post-approval changes in the nomenclature or location of works approved under UT Capex, District Capex and Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
The circular issued by the Budget Division of the Civil Secretariat, a copy of which lies with GNS said the department has been receiving numerous references from Administrative Departments and District Development Commissioners seeking such changes after works have been approved and uploaded on BEAMS.
The Finance Department noted that post-approval modifications amount to a material alteration of the approved work, affecting its identity, scope, intended purpose, beneficiary population and service area. In many cases, these changes also require fresh technical, administrative and financial approvals, besides necessitating revision of the Annual Action Plan.
The department further stated that such modifications compromise financial discipline and digital governance by disrupting audit trails, geo-tagging, BEAMS and JKPaySys workflows, project monitoring and expenditure tracking. They also lead to accounting complications and audit observations.
To preserve the integrity of the approved Annual Action Plan and ensure compliance with the General Financial Rules 2017, the Manual for Procurement of Works, and the J&K Budget Manual, the Finance Department has issued the following instructions for strict compliance.
Administrative Departments, DDCs and Executing Agencies have been directed to ensure that before a work is recommended for inclusion in the Annual Action Plan and uploaded on BEAMS, all prerequisites including site verification, land availability, feasibility, geo-location, scope, nomenclature, beneficiary coverage and statutory requirements for Accord of Administrative Approval and Technical Sanction are duly completed. This must be done in accordance with the guidelines governing UT Capex, District Capex and CDF.
Once a work is approved and uploaded on BEAMS, no change in nomenclature or location will be permitted. However, the Finance Department said that in exceptional cases, changes may be considered only with the prior approval of the competent authority, where a force majeure event necessitates such a change after all pre-requisites have been fulfilled.
The instructions will apply to all works uploaded on BEAMS under UT Capex, District Capex and Constituency Development Fund.(GNS)
