Jharkhand: Rs 20,000 Crore still stuck in PL accounts despite government efforts

Mail News Service

Ranchi:  Despite repeated efforts by the state government, a significant amount of Rs 20,000 crore remains unreturned from Public Ledger (PL) accounts to the treasury. Even after strict instructions from the Finance Secretary, only Rs 1,900 crore has been transferred from these accounts between December 2024 and January 2025. At the time of the new government’s formation, there was a commitment to return the unused funds from PL accounts to the treasury to ensure better utilization of resources.

On November 27, the Finance Secretary held a meeting with secretaries from various departments, directing them to immediately return funds that had been lying in PL accounts for over two years. Departments such as Road Construction, Health, Urban Development, Welfare, Energy, Panchayati Raj, Building Construction, Home Prison, IT and Information & Public Relations continue to hold large sums in their accounts. A major issue is that a significant portion of the development budget allocated each year remains unspent. Instead of utilizing the funds, these amounts are withdrawn from the treasury and stored in PL accounts, a practice that has persisted for years.

The funds in PL accounts have been increasing annually. On March 31, 2020, Rs 16,303 crore was lying in these accounts. By the end of the financial year 2020-21, an additional Rs 12,279 crore was deposited, raising the total to Rs 25,986 crore. However, only Rs 9,683 crore was spent that year, leaving Rs 13,707 crore in the PL account as of April 1, 2021. By January 31, 2022, another Rs 5,350 crore was added, yet previous government directives to either use or return these funds were largely ignored by most departments.

The Finance Secretary reiterated in the recent meeting that funds lying idle for two years must be returned to the treasury immediately. According to Treasury Code Rule-300, money should only be withdrawn from the treasury when there is an immediate need for payment. However, to prevent the lapse of funds or delays in payments, many departments withdraw money and park it in PL accounts. While there are provisions for keeping funds in PL accounts for boards and corporations, many departments misuse this system by depositing other scheme-related funds to avoid budget lapses.

Despite clear government instructions that money should not remain in PL accounts for extended periods, the issue persists. The state government continues to push for stricter measures to ensure these funds are either utilized effectively or returned to the treasury for proper allocation.