Haryana to review Congress govt decisions

The new government puts 115 decisions under scanner

The Haryana government will review the 115 decisions of the previous Congress government announced in the election year. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said all the departments concerned have been directed to review the decisions taken by the previous government after May 16, 2014, and submit a report on the same within 15 days.

There were 115 such decisions involving 23 departments. He said some decisions were taken by departments itself on which the concerned ministers would take further action after proper review.

The decisions under scanner are mainly regarding appointments in government departments and announcements regarding pay hikes. A monthly hike of Rs 200 in social security pensions that had been announced would incur a burden of about Rs 520 crore annually on the state exchequer.

The Haryana Assembly also passed the Haryana Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) bill 2014, that made a provision of waivering an arrears of Rs 5,168 crore. The arrears consist tax of Rs 3,080 crore, penalty of Rs 1,789 crore and interest of Rs 298 crore.

An official spokesperson added the provision do not ensure the waiver. Since it is difficult to recover the arrears, it may be viable to explore the viability of a partial relaxation in amount but that can be decided only after the discussion.