Chandigarh, Oct. 2 -- UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria's move of withdrawing the financial powers of senior officers and transferring it to the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has sparked confusion within the administration. This has also had a direct impact on the functioning of the engineering department, with tender allotments now stalled until further clarification is received.

Acting on the Centre's directions, Kataria had issued the order on Tuesday, stripping heads of departments (HoDs), chief engineers, administrative secretaries, and even the chief secretary of their financial approval powers. Under the new system, final sanction for all plans, administrative approvals, expenditures (including works), public-private par...