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Buy a saree, inform the boss? What Uttarakhand’s ₹5,000 spending rule says
Employees from the Uttarakhand government said that while approval was necessary for big-ticket purchases earlier, the ₹5000 limit has come as a surprise.
The Uttarakhand government has passed an order stating that any spending over ₹5,000 by its employees must be reported to their higher authority.
“Any government servant who enters into any dealing by way of sale or purchase or otherwise in respect of any movable property of the value exceeding his one month's pay or ₹5,000, whichever is less, shall immediately report such dealing to the appropriate authority,” the order stated, according to NDTV.
Issued on July 14, the directive further specifies that prior approval from the “appropriate authority” is required for any transaction carried out by a person who is not a “regular and reputed businessman.”
For transactions involving immovable property also, it is mandatory for the government employees to obtain the approval of their head of department or the “appropriate authority”, the report added.
The employees are also required to declare all immovable property to their name when they join, and do so every five years during their tenure. The employees will also need to do this for their spouses or any members of their family who are living in the same house.
The order also includes leasing or gifting of such properties.
Employees from the Uttarakhand government said that while approval was necessary for big-ticket purchases earlier, the ₹5000 limit has come as a surprise, the NDTV report stated.
Employees federation president slams order
Karam Ram, president of Uttarakhand SC-ST Employees Federation, questioned whether normal place purchases for family members will also need to be approved.
“If you want to buy a saree for your wife, do you have to take permission from the department head for that too? Do you have to take permission to buy clothes for the children?” NDTV quoted him as saying.
Ram said that in view of today's inflation and taxes, almost everything that one buys for their family will cost over ₹5,000, according to NDTV. He further said that the order should have been issued after consultations, adding that the limit be raised to ₹1 lakh.
