Lucknow, Jan. 3 -- : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday noted that budget utilisation in some of the state government's departments is slow and asked the ministers and officers of the respective departments to accelerate the use of funds. Chairing a meeting convened to review the progress of the state finance department with regard to expenditure of the budget for 2025-26, Yogi said ministers, additional chief secretaries and principal secretaries heading respective departments should visit Delhi, write letters and follow up through phone calls with the Union government. Though no official figures about the use of funds have been released, those aware of the development said the state government's major departments have been able to use merely 50% of the annual budget (2025-26) in the first three quarters of the current financial year. He further directed that for timely budget expenditure, responsibility and accountability must be fixed at every level, and no negligence will be tolerated. He laid emphasis on implementation of directives on the ground and said delays in decision-making hamper timely expenditure and therefore officers must act swiftly. Yogi asked the chief secretary to take the initiative in this regard. He also directed the chief minister's office to identify departments with slow budget utilisation and issue letters to the ministers concerned from the CM's Office. At this meeting, 20 major departments made presentations with higher budget provisions. He said the ministers and officers, responsible for accelerating the progress of expenditure, should hold monthly coordination meetings to accelerate progress. He asked the finance department to immediately release pending portions of allocated budgets. He reviewed the presentations of the 20 major departments and directed senior officials of all key departments to ensure timely utilisation of the allocated budget so that projects and schemes are completed on time. Yogi said officers of the 20 major departments that receive funds from the central government under various schemes should actively pursue budget release. "Officers must develop the capacity to take timely decisions to ensure budget expenditure within stipulated timelines." He directed that the department should begin reviewing budget demands with all departments in advance for the upcoming financial year. He said an assessment of expenditure over the past five years should be reviewed while allocating the next budget. He instructed the finance department to start preparations for a new action plan and to strengthen coordination with the Centre to ensure timely release of central budget allocations....