Now, Chandigarh can spend Rs 260 cr more each financial quarter

Chandigarh, September 28

For development of the city, the UT Administration will get Rs260 crore each for the next two financial quarters – October to December and January to March.

The Centre has withdrawn the 20 per cent cut that was imposed in the UT Budget during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Centre had suspended 20 per cent of the Budget expenditure for the UT, but now the Administration can spend the entire Budget in the remaining two quarters of this financial year.

The stalled projects, which were put on hold due to the cut in the Budget, can be started now.

The Centre had approved a Budget of Rs5,186.12 crore for Chandigarh for the fiscal 2021-2022. Due to the economic slowdown during the pandemic, the government had directed the UT Administration to slash the expenditure by 20 per cent and as a result, the UT had to spend nearly Rs260 crore less of the total allocation of Rs1,296 crore for each financial quarter.

UT Adviser Dharam Pal said the fund would now be used to speed up the ongoing projects. The allocation of the funds for various projects would be decided in a review meeting likely to be held next week, he said, and added that a part of the funds could also be allocated to the Municipal Corporation for various development projects. The restrictions on spending were imposed for the first two quarters — April to June and July to September — due to the pandemic. — TNS