Shimla: Grappling with a financial crisis, the Himachal Pradesh government has initiated a major exercise to trace and recover unspent funds lying idle across various departments. Nearly ₹12,000 crore of government money is reportedly parked in fixed deposits (FDRs) or inactive accounts in different banks. The move aims to bring these idle funds back into circulation and ease the state’s growing fiscal pressure.
The Finance and Planning Department has directed all Sub-Divisional Officers (SDMs) to identify such inactive accounts and report the details to the state government. Any funds found in these accounts will be transferred to the government treasury.
Officials said several departments have opened multiple accounts over the years, many of which now remain inactive. Some contain just a few thousand rupees, while others hold substantial sums. Despite these unutilized balances, many departments continue to seek additional grants and budgetary allocations, creating an unnecessary strain on the exchequer.
The Finance Department has taken a firm stance, deciding that future requests for additional budgets or grants-in-aid will only be considered after a detailed review by the Budget Division. If departments are found to have sufficient funds in the form of FDRs or unspent balances, their new budget proposals will be reduced accordingly.
In a recent high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, strict directions were issued to conduct regular audits of all departmental accounts and ensure compliance with financial rules. Departments have also been instructed to deposit the interest earned on unspent funds back into the treasury.
A senior official said the treasury has already been asked to reclaim budgets for schemes that have seen no progress for decades. “The government is committed to enforcing financial discipline and ensuring that every rupee is utilised effectively,” the official added.
With mounting debt and limited avenues for revenue generation, the state government is banking on this financial cleanup to unlock much-needed resources. Officials believe that the recovery of idle funds could provide temporary relief to the state’s strained finances while ensuring better accountability in future expenditure.
