CHAPTER XXIX

PUBLIC WORKS AND IRRIGATION DEPARTMENTS

Introductory

636. The rules in this Chapter apply primarily to government servants of the Public Works and Irrigation Departments. They are equally applicable to Special Land Acquisition Officers and other government servants not belonging to the Public Works and Irrigation Departments who may be authorized to incur expenditure against the grant for "Public Works" or for "Irrigation".

NOTE—Treasury Officers are prohibited from issuing any money for the disbursements of civil officers acting as public works disbursers except in accordance with the rules in this Chapter.

637. They do not apply to charges for construction (petty) and repair which are not treated as expenditure of the Public Works Department, vide the rules in Chapter XIII.

Receipts

638. (1) No deposit account can be opened in a Treasury by government servants of the Public Works or Irrigation Department. Whatever sums are paid into a Treasury by a government servant of the Department or on his account must be carried to the credit of that department under the head "882-Cash and Departmental Remittances–Public Works Remittances" in the public account.

NOTE—This rule applies also to deposits made, at the instance of the Public Works Department, by municipalities or other local funds or local bodies, to meet the cost of works to be carried out by the department. In this case, the accompanying chalan (paragraph 31-A of Part I) should state clearly the name of the Public Works Division to which the amount is creditable and of the work to which the deposit relates.

(2) A government servant of the department who has frequently to make remittances will keep a book in which he will enter all his remittances to the Treasury. This book should accompany the cash and the chalan to be receipted by the Treasury.

1. The Treasury Officer will prepare the consolidated treasury receipt in Form No. 78 with the aid of the schedule of receipts (Form No. 75) and after completing and signing the certificate prescribed at the bottom will send the consolidated treasury receipt to the Divisional Officer on the 4th of the month following that to which the account relates along with the pass book of cheques in the same envelope by post, vide paragraph 648.

2. Remittance made to the Bank of cheques paid in the public works remittances should be entered in the remittance book, but in the place for the treasury receipt should be entered ‘By Bank cheques’ and the book need not be sent with the remittance, provided that the cheques are always endorsed ‘Pay to the Bank of..................’ or ‘Credit account of Government.’

(3) All receipts on account of the Public Works Department must be recorded with chalan-wise particulars remittances made into the Treasury in the register of departmental receipts, Form No. 75, care being taken to show remittances received from Divisional Officers and their subordinates separate from those received from others on their account.

The Form 75 should be written up by carbon processes in duplicate, the duplicate being removed by tear off process and sent as a schedule to the Accountant General with the cash account.

(4) For receipts on account of recoveries of rent of buildings, see paragraph 107–A. These recoveries should be credited in the manner laid down in exception (5) to rule 2 under paragraph 444(e).

Payments

639. Funds may be supplied to government officers of the Public Works and Irrigation Departments in two ways:

(1) In Direction and other Special offices, directly by pay and travelling allowance bills of non-gazetted government servants and contingent bills presented by heads of offices, and by bills in respect of personal claims of self drawing gazetted officers ; the relevant provisions of Chapters III and V to VIII of Financial Hand Book, Volume V, Part I shall apply mutatis mutandis to these bills as they apply to bills of other Civil departments; and

(2) by means of cheques in all other cases.

(This procedure came into effect for payments made from April 1, 1975)

640. The two classes of payments referred to in paragraph 639 above will be registered separately in the Treasury.

641. (Deleted)

642. (Deleted)

Cheques

643. Government servants in charge of Public Works and Irrigation Department Divisions and other Public Works and Irrigation Department officers who may be authorized by the Accountant General in accordance with the rules in Volume VI of the Handbook may draw cheques on specified treasuries and thus obtain the funds required by them for departmental disbursements. Letters of credit will, however, be issued specifying the limit up to which cheques may be drawn during the month.

644. Payments made on cheques should be recorded with cheque-wise particulars of cheques drawn on the Treasury in the register of cheques paid in Form no. 74. The register of cheques should be written up by carbon process in duplicate, so that the duplicates may be removed by tear off process and sent to the Accountant General along with the paid cheques in support of the debits in their accounts.

Subordinate Officers

645. A Divisional Officer authorized under paragraph 646 to draw cheques on the Treasury, may empower any of his Sub-Divisional Officers to draw against his own account. Separate accounts for Sub-Divisional Officer should not be opened either at the Head or at a Sub-Treasury; the Divisional Officer gives a letter of authority only and the cheques drawn and paid under his authority will be charged off in the same way as if drawn by himself. But if the Divisional Officer has intimated any limitation on the drawing of a Sub-Divisional Officer for any month, the cheques drawn by the latter during that month should be noted, irrespective of the date of payment on the reverse of the letter advising the limitation, in the manner prescribed in paragraph 439. The entry in the register of cheques paid (paragraph 644) should, however, appear under the date of actual payment.

NOTE—The accounts of all Public Works and Irrigation Department Officers are not closed on the last day of the calendar month. The letters of intimation will, therefore, specify the dates of commencement and termination of the month in each case and the intimations advised therein should be held to be applicable to cheques drawn during the month thus defined. (See also paragraph 442).

646. When funds are required for a Sub-Divisional Officer at a different Treasury from that with which the Divisional Officer himself banks, the latter should get himself placed in account with that Treasury (vide paragraph 643) and then empower his subordinate to draw against his account. Funds should not be made available for such a purpose by means of remittance transfer receipts.

Payments at Sub-Treasuries

647. Funds may also be obtained by the Divisional Officer, or his Sub-Divisional Officers, from Tahsils or Sub-Treasuries by means of cheques, but see paragraphs 56 and 63 of Part I. (See also note to paragraph 645).

Pass-Book

Miscellaneous payments

649. Miscellaneous payments made at the Treasury on behalf of the Public Works and Irrigation Departments and payments made by Land Acquisition Officers, not being Special Officers (Appendix XI), on account of compensation for lands taken up for those departments should be debited direct in the relevant service head in the Consolidated Fund, the name of the Division or office concerned being specified in each case.

Monthly settlement

650. The Treasury Officer should arrange to have a monthly settlement very early in the month with the Divisional Officer, i.e., he should have the pass-book written up in respect of cheques cashed during the previous month, and issue a consolidated receipt in Form No. 78 for the whole of the remittances received from the Divisional Officer and his subordinates during that month, vide paragraph 638 and 648. He should also furnish the Divisional Officer with a certificate of total issues in Form no. 77–A.

Return of forms supplied

651. A statement should be sent quarterly to each Divisional Officer giving the numbers and dates of all Public Works and Irrigation Departments cheque books and receipt books issued (vide paragraph 437) on requisitions received from him and from each of his Sub-Divisional Officers.