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Financial Management

DERC notice to civic body over expenditure

Tuesday, 08 December 2009 10:52 administrator
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Indian Express 08.12.2009

DERC notice to civic body over expenditure

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has sent a showcause notice to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for failing to get its capital expenditure approved by the regulator.

The NDMC, which is a deemed power licensee, is the primary power distributor in the VIP Lutyens’ zone. The municipal body has been asked to provide an explanation at a hearing scheduled for December 10. While DERC officials were tight-lipped about the notice, a senior Power department official explained, “If a discom’s capital expenditure plan exceeds Rs 2 crore, it is required to get it approved by the DERC. This law applies to all discoms and the NDMC, by virtue of being a discom, falls into the DERC’s ambit. A discom’s capital expenditure is extremely important for the regulator to approve because the cap ex is eventually added to the Aggregate Revenue Requirement which is the basis for tariff determination.”

Capital expenditure can be defined as the funds spent on acquiring new equipment or upgrading existing equipment which is important to maintain a healthy power distribution network.

One of the factors that the regulator takes into account while determining tariffs is a discom’s capital expenditure. Sources have confirmed that the NDMC did not seek any approval from the DERC for any capital expenditure over the last two years.

“The NDMC has done this in the past as well. A few years ago, they were warned directly by the DERC commissioner to fall in line and provide details about their expenditure,” the official explained.

The regulator has now asked the municipal body to appear for a hearing on December 10 to explain why they failed to get approvals for their capital expenditure and why a penalty should not be imposed on NDMC for the same. NDMC officials, when contacted, refused to speak on the issue.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 December 2009 10:54
 

PCMC's secondary schools to get Rs 13 crore grant

Friday, 20 November 2009 11:24 administrator
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The Times of India 20.11.2009

PCMC's secondary schools to get Rs 13 crore grant

TNN 20 November 2009, 02:44am IST

PUNE: The state government has approved a grant of Rs 13 crore for the secondary schools run by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). This is the highest allocation approved for any single year.

Vishnu Jadhav, secondary education officer, told TOI that the PCMC has received Rs 6 crore as the first instalment of the grant.

The PCMC runs 18 secondary schools, out of which 15 are fully aided while three are unaided. The civic body receives grants for the aided schools for payment of salaries and other works.

Jadhav said that the secondary education department usually gets annual grants between Rs 3 crore and 5 crore. It is not mandatory on the government to give the entire amount of grant every year. It gives grants as per the availability of funds. Two years' dues are pending since 2006-07.

 

PCMC chief prunes school board draft budget

Friday, 20 November 2009 11:16 administrator
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The Hindu 20.11.2009

PCMC chief prunes school board draft budget

TNN 20 November 2009, 02:38am IST

PUNE: Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma has suggested a reduction of Rs 6.71 crore in the draft annual budget of the civic school board for 2010-11. The standing committee has approved the draft budget after effecting the changes suggested by Sharma.

Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, school board chairman Arjun Thakre claimed that the board had made minimum allocations under various heads in the draft budget, but the municipal commissioner has still reduced the outlay. The school board had drawn up a draft annual budget of Rs 72.33 crore, which was pruned to Rs 65.62 crore by Sharma.

The school board, had expected the PCMC to provide Rs 50.49 crore for the draft budget, which the civic chief reduced to Rs 43.78 crore.

Besides, the school board had proposed an allocation of Rs 40.52 crore for planned administrative expenditure and Rs 60 lakh for non-planned administrative expenses. It had suggested an allocation of Rs 7.28 crore for payment of pension and gratuity and allocated Rs 1.21 crore for office expenditure. The municipal commissioner has not made any changes in these allocations.

The municipal commissioner has reduced the allocation for school expenditure from Rs 18.32 crore to Rs 13.71 crore. Giving details of the cut, Thakre said, "The municipal commissioner has reduced the allocation for purchase of school uniforms from Rs 6.5 crore to Rs 5.5 crore; the allocation for purchase of socks from Rs 1.10 crore to Rs 1 crore; the allocation for purchase of school bags and slates from Rs 1 crore to Rs 90 lakh."

Thakre stated, "The school board intends to give quality uniforms and other materials to the students. The prices of these commodities are increasing, so a hike in the allocation for the purchase of the materials was needed."

"The school board had proposed to set aside Rs 17 lakh for expenditure on other school materials, but the municipal commissioner has not made any allocation for the same. He has also rejected the allocation of Rs 2 crore for the purchase of PT uniforms for students and wants the PT uniforms to be distributed every alternate year," he pointed out.

Thakre further said, "The school board had earmarked Rs 2 crore for English medium schools. But the municipal commissioner has suggested reducing the allocation to only Rs 15 lakh. We will not be able to start new English medium schools if the reduction in allocation is implemented."

The standing committee has approved the draft budget of the school board with a total allocation of Rs 65.62 crore as suggested by the municipal commissioner. The standing committee has sent the draft budget to the civic general body for approval.
 
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