For smooth transition to the new Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) system, Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment Dr Haseeb Drabu directed the concerned to conduct interactive exercises with all stakeholders to build a consensus besides educating them about the new system.The Minister said this while convening a meeting to review the progress made regarding replacement of existing Treasury system to Pay and Accounts Office (PAO), here today.Principal Secretary, Finance Navin Kumar Choudhary, Director General Accounts & Treasuries Altaf Hussain Mirza and other senior officers of the Finance Department were present in the meeting.Stressing on the importance of taking stakeholders on-board, the Minister asked to include Deputy Commissioners in the process as they have wider reach, so as to generate maximum consensus. He also asked for educating officers on the functioning of the new PAO system for better delivery of service.The Minister said moving out of ancient and archaic system of Treasuries will simplify the process of government payments besides enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. He said that the new system, rather than geographical demarcation, will be departmental based and IT driven.
The Minister was informed that training sessions will be organized for Drawing Officers in Jammu as well as Srinagar.The upcoming Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) system to be launched in January, 2018 replacing the existing treasury system will be instrumental in ensuring accurate and timely payment, timely realization of receipts, timely and accurate compilation/consolidation of monthly/annual accounts, adherence to prescribed accounting standards, rules and principals, timely, accurate, comprehensive, relevant and useful financial reporting and efficient monitoring. Earlier, the Minister convened a meeting to review the working of J&K Employees Provident Fund Organization.The meeting was attended by Commissioner Provident Fund, Dr Abdul Rashid and other senior officers.The Minister was briefed about the activities and performance of the department besides apprised of the implementation of Provident Fund scheme in the State.He asked for a detailed corpus under Provident Fund to be submitted to him, so that a comprehensive plan can be developed to make effective and efficient use of the organization resources.