Srinagar, Sept 25: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has clarified that no officer or official is authorised to unilaterally alter, substitute or change any work or site recommended and approved by an MLA under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) scheme.
The clarification was given by the Finance Minister in the J&K Legislative Assembly in response to a question raised by MLA Rajeev Kumar Bhagat, who sought to know whether officers could amend or alter a Constituency Development Plan after its approval or vetting by the concerned MLA.
The Finance Minister said the CDF scheme is governed by guidelines issued vide Government order no. 76-FD of 2025 dated March 10, 2025, as amended from time to time.
As per Para 2.1 of the guidelines, works under the CDF scheme are taken up on the basis of recommendations received from the concerned MLA in the prescribed format.
Importantly, Para 2.15 stipulates that any change in the work or site selected for execution by the implementing agency can be made only with the concurrence of the concerned MLA.
The government further clarified that the MLA may recommend the change or cancellation of a work or site before its sanction by the implementing agency.
“Therefore, there is no provision under the existing CDF Guidelines authorizing any Officer/Official to unilaterally alter, substitute or change a work/site forming part of the CDF recommendations approved/vetted by the concerned Hon’ble MLA,” the government said.
It added that any permissible change before sanction has to be made with the concurrence or recommendation of the concerned MLA and in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The government also outlined the procedure to be followed if a work recommended by an MLA cannot be executed.
Under Para 2.6, the District Development Commissioner (DDC) is required to communicate a comprehensive report to the concerned MLA, along with reasons for the inability to execute the recommended work.
Any clarification relating to interpretation of the CDF guidelines or any special or unforeseen situation is required to be referred to the Finance Department, the government said.
At the same time, the government clarified that technical scrutiny, feasibility assessment, preparation of estimates, administrative and technical sanctions, and execution of approved works remain within the domain of the competent district and implementing authorities.
However, it stressed that these technical and administrative powers do not authorise officials to unilaterally substitute a work or site recommended by the concerned MLA.
