J&K Finance Dept issues fresh Budgetary guidelines, emphasizes austerity and accountability

Srinagar: The Finance Department of the Jammu and Kashmir Government has issued a set of fresh budgetary guidelines for the financial year 2025-26, emphasizing austerity measures and strict fiscal discipline across all departments.In an official order issued today by Principal Secretary Finance, Santosh D Vaidya, officers have been directed to regulate travel expenditures and ensure prudent utilisation of allocated funds. The directive comes as part of the authorisation process under the revenue budget for the upcoming financial year.Key among the guidelines is a clear restriction on travel: international travel is prohibited unless specifically approved, and all officers have been instructed to travel only by economy class, irrespective of their entitlement.

The Finance Department has also directed departments to clear electricity and water dues for all government buildings in a timely manner, and ensure that all such premises are metered to avoid leakages and wastage.Departments have been instructed to observe economy in budget utilisation across various heads, including Leave Travel Concession (LTC), telephone expenses, petrol/oil/lubricants (PoL), advertisements, publicity, hospitality, and other discretionary expenditures.Further, seminars, conferences, and camps must be conducted in government-owned venues, and should be organized with “utmost economy.”

The guidelines also stress minimising the purchase of new vehicles, strictly in line with the government’s car policy. All departments have been asked to assess current vehicle deployment to ensure optimal usage and avoid redundancy.In a push for enhanced transparency and cost-efficiency, the Finance Department has called for consistent efforts to reduce non-priority revenue expenditure through staff rationalisation, cadre reviews, enforcement of biometric attendance, and adherence to e-tendering and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform for all procurements.

It has been mandated that the e-tendering process for FY 2025-26 be completed in a time-bound manner, with all bidding processes to be finalized by or before April 30, 2025.To maintain fiscal discipline, departments have been instructed to cap expenditure at 30% of the total budget during the last quarter, and limit spending in the final month of the financial year to just 15%.The order further states that no budgetary diversion shall be made under any pretext unless expressly authorised by the Finance Department.These comprehensive guidelines are aimed at enforcing transparency, accountability, and cost-effectiveness in public spending across Jammu and Kashmir.