Urban Development ministry biggest defaulter of govt presses

The Ministry of Urban Development, considered to be the guardian of the government presses, has emerged as its biggest defaulter of dues.

The ministry owes the Government of India Presses (GoIPs) Rs 91.45 crore, nearly a quarter of the total outstanding dues from various ministries, departments and states, totalling to Rs 385.62 crore.

The GoIPs cater to the printing needs of all ministries and departments of the central government on ‘no profit – no loss’ basis.

The next highest defaulter is the Ministry Communication and IT (Rs 73.76 crore), Ministry of Defence (Rs 70.45 crore), Ministry of Home  Affairs (Rs 31.77 crore), Ministry of Finance (Rs 27.41 crore) and the Delhi government (Rs 17.19 crore). The defaulters’ list includes 54 central ministries, 12 autonomous bodies, eight states and the Delhi government.

Among the state governments, Haryana owed the GoIP Rs 1.82 crore, followed by Karnataka (Rs 1.75 crore) and Odisha (Rs 1.52 crore).

A Parliamentary Standing Committee expressed astonishment at the revelation that the nodal ministry for GoIPs was itself the highest defaulter.

The committee wanted the ministry to “set an inspiring example”  by clearing the own outstanding dues of Rs 91.45 crore within a stipulated period of this financial year itself.