Thiruvananthapuram: On Wednesday, the state government further tightened control over treasury operations by reducing the bill payment limit without restrictions from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. This restriction also applies to local bodies, meaning their payments will be impacted. Under the new regulations, bills exceeding Rs 5 lakh will require approval from the finance department before being cleared. This may result in delays in the state administration, even for small bills, awaiting clearance from the treasury. A letter on treasury control from the additional chief secretary (finance) has been circulated to all treasury officers. The Centre permitted the state government to borrow an additional Rs 4,200 crore for Onam expenses. The state can borrow up to Rs 37,512 crore for the current financial year, of which Rs 21,253 crore has already been borrowed by early September. The remaining amount will be borrowed between January and March of the next year, the final quarter of the financial year. To cover the significant expenses of Onam, the government requested to borrow Rs 5,000 crore from this allocation, of which the Centre approved Rs 4,200 crore. With a deepening financial crisis, the state finance department is now facing concerns about meeting salary, pension payments, as well as clearing pending bills and arrears. Recognizing the inability to fulfill commitments outlined in the State Plan for the current financial year, the state government has decided to scale down the Plan to focus only on essential projects. This decision entails a significant reduction in the current year's Plan, for which a cabinet sub-committee has been appointed, and the proposal has been approved by the cabinet.Submit the plan expenditure.