Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission upon Decentralization in Bengal of witnesses serving directly under the Government of India, volume 10 ([London?]: [House of Commons?], 1908)

ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION.

195

without a previous reference to the Finance Depart-
ment, but every such order must be communicated to
that Department ; and the Departments of Commerce
and Industry and Public Works in the cases mentioned
in the following paragraph, and the Army and Military
Supply Departments in the cases mentioned in para-
graph 16. may sanction expenditure without a previous
reference to the Finance Department.
8. The Department of Commerce and Industry may
authorize expenditure which does not require the
previous sanction of the Secretary of State in
Council-
(i) in the case of the maintenance and working
expenses of railways,
, (it) in the case of the Postal and Telegraph
Departments, if the proposed expenditure
does not involve outlay in excess of the
budget grants of those departments, or a
re-appropriation from one major head to
another.
The Public Works Department may similarly
authorize expenditure—■
(i) in the case of the maintenance and working
expenses of irrigation works,
(ii) in the case of civil works expenditure, if the
expenditure proposed does not involve outlay
in excess of the total grant under that head ;
but in none of the cases enumerated above may any
rule or order of the Finance Department be contra-
vened, or any new principle or practice which is likely
to lead to increase of expense be introduced.
9. Under the instructions quoted in paragraph 6,
other Departments of the Secretariat of the Govern-
ment of India are bound to consult the Finance
Department on all references received by them which
involve financial considerations before a decision is
arrived at. References from Local Governments,
Administrations and Heads of Departments to the
Government of India are addressed to, and received in,
that Department of the Secretariat which deals with
administrative questions relating to the particular
branch of the public service from which the reference
emanates. When the points at issue have been
discussed in the Administrative Department,* the
complete file of papers with the notes and opinions
recorded upon it, is forwarded to the Finance Depart-
ment for consideration. Such inter-departmental
references are termed unofficial communications. The
official form of correspondence is employed only in-
(a) cases which personally concern an officer in
another branch of the Secretariat, and
(Z>) proposals involving expenditure by another
department of the Government of India.
The following figures show the number of references
received and dealt with in the department (exclusive
of those dealt with in the Military Finance branch)
during the past few years :—
1903 25,528
1904 27,439
1905 24,493
1906 24,996
1907 25,714
77.—Secretariat.—Military Finance Branch.
10. The Military Finance branch deals with :—
(1) All cases falling under the heads of business
cited in paragraph 2 above which originate in
the Army Department or the Department of
Military Supply, i.e., broadly all proposals
involving military expenditure.
(2) Army finance generally, including the prepara-
tion of the military budget and the com-
pilation of the military schedules.
(3) The Military Accounts Department.
11. The Military Finance branch has a staff of four
Gazetted Officers and a clerical establishment of 23f


* The Finance Department is itself the Administrative
Department for the classes of business described in
paragraph 2 above. If any of the other Departments of
the Secretariat are interested in a particular reference
addressed direct to the Finance Department or in any
points arising out of the reference, they are consulted
unofficially before final orders are issued.
f Including one Superintendent, who is borne on the
establishment of the Military Accountant-General.

men, the annual cost of the Branch being Rs. 1, 71,000.*
The Gazetted Officers are :—
(a) A Joint Secretary on ... Rs. 36,000 a year.
(i) A Deputy Secretary on „ 20,400 „
f(c) An Assistant Secretary on ,, 17,400 „
+(^) ,, ,, „ 0,600 „
12. The clerical establishment is divided into nine
grades, the rates of pay varying from Rs. 50 to Rs. 500
a month.
13. The Secretariat proper also receives Secretariat
assistance from the Military Accountant General and
Deputy Military Accountant General (who are respec-
tively ex officio Deputy and Assistant Secretary in the
Military Finance branch) and their office.
14. As regards the functions of the Joint Secretary
within the Military Finance branch and the disposal
of work by that branch, the procedure corresponds to
that stated in paragraph 5 above, except that the
Deputy Secretaries in the Military Finance branch do
not submit cases direct to the Honourable Member.
15. In ordinary practice the two branches work
independently of one another ; but the Rules of
Business recognise only the undivided department,
and the relations between the two branches are,
therefore, governed by such orders as the Honourable
Member in charge of the whole department may pass
from time to time. In particular :—
(a) Any orders affecting the department as a
whole are communicated to the Military
Finance branch through the Secretary in the
Ordinary branch.
(5) Particular cases or classes of cases, w'hich
would ordinarily be dealt with by an officer
of the Ordinary branch, are sometimes made
over, under the orders of the Honourable
Member, to the Joint Secretary in the Mili-
tary Finance branch and dealt with by him.
(c) Cases which appertain to the Military Finance
branch, in that they originate with the Army
Department or the Department of Military-
Supply, but which also speciallyg concern the
Ordinary branch, are dealt with by the Mili-
tary Finance branch in the first instance, but
referred unofficially to the Ordinary branch
on the analogy of the procedure explained in
the foot-note to paragraph 9 above.
16. The Army Department and the Department of
Military Supply can issue orders sanctioning expendi-
ture which :—
(1) does not require the sanction of the Secretary
of State in Council;
(2) does not involve any outlay in excess of the
total sanctioned budget provision under any
major head of account, and
(3) does not involve re-appropriations from one
or more grants or minor heads of account to
any other such grants or minor heads exceed-
ing in the aggregate Rs. 3 lakhs in any one
financial year.
These powers are subject to the proviso mentioned
in the last three lines of paragraph 8 above.
17. The Joint Secretary in the Military Finance
branch is ex-officio Secretary to the Government of
India in the Army Department (Finance), and is con-
sulted in that capacity on all questions involving mili-
tary expenditure. Accordingly the powers referred to
in paragraph 16 can only be exercised in the Army
Department after he. or a junior officer of the Military
Finance branch on his behalf, has advised on the case,
and has had an oportunity for requiring a reference
to the Finance Department in the Military Finance
branch if he considers such a reference necessary


* This is the proposed budget figure for 1908-09. It
does not include the pay of the Superintendent
(Rs. 400-20-500) mentioned in the preceding foot-note.
t Draws grade pay as a member of the Military
Account Department plus a local allowance of Rs. 250
per mensem. The actual salary drawn by the present
incumbent has been entered.
J The pay of the appointment is Rs. 750—50-1,000.
The actual salary of the present incumbent has been
entered.
§ B.g„ when the Finance Department (Ordinary branch)
is the Administrative Department for. the subject inques-
tion, as in cases relating to excise or assessed taxes.

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