Financial crunch hits March End

Accounts worth approximately Rs 600 Cr settled

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Despite a government holiday in view of Mahavir Jayanti, government offices processed transactions worth crores on March 31, the last day of transactions for the outgoing financial year (FY).

Most dues were paid through bank transactions by 4 PM. The remaining dues were settled by cheque, completing the year-end balance sheet.

It is being said that this March-end was hit by a financial crunch. Many departments received less grant funding compared to last year, which led to a reduction in the number of bills raised.

By evening on Tuesday (March 31), 479 bills were submitted at the District Treasury Office.

Against these, an estimated Rs 100 crore was paid on the day, while approximately Rs 500 crore was paid over the previous six days. The number of bills submitted to the treasury office by March end was visibly lower compared to last year.

Sources estimated that around 1,400 bills were submitted on the last day of March 2024, while approximately 1,100 bills were submitted in March 2025.

There are 358 government offices in the district.

The treasury department explained that bills received from the relevant departments of the offices are verified and then sent back online for approval to the respective department's Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), after which the bills can be processed.

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Construction Dept's Rs 1,100 Cr never arrived

The Public Works Department (PWD) needed funds to pay dues of approximately Rs 1,100 crore for work done in the outgoing financial year, all to be cleared by March 31. However, the government did not release the funds by 7 PM today. “As a result, bills for NABARD projects, Asian Development Bank projects, and major road repair works were ready but could not be processed,” said S S Bhagat, Superintending Engineer.

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DPC's expenditure of Rs 735 crore

The District Planning Committee (DPC) completed its target of Rs 735 crore. Planning Officer Bharat Vayal stated that payments for all grants in the final phase were disbursed, claiming 100% allocation of grants and works.

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Bills worth Rs 100 crore in single day

“An average of 300 bills were received daily over the past seven days. A total of 479 bills were submitted on March 31 while Rs 100 crore was paid out during the day. Offices remained open until midnight,” said Vaijanath Shelke, the Treasury Officer.