Bihar failed to submit utilisation certificates of projects worth over ₹70,000 crore: CAG
₹ 70,000 crore: CAG
The report of the CAG on State Finances for the year 2023-24 was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday.
"Despite the requirement of submitting UCs within the stipulated time period, 49,649 outstanding UCs of ₹70,877.61 crore were not received by the Accountant General , Bihar, as on March 31, 2024," it said.
In the absence of UCs, there is no assurance that funds disbursed have been used for the intended purpose, the report said.
"Moreover, high pendency of UCs is fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of funds," it said.
Of the total ₹70,877.61 crore, ₹14,452.38 crore pertained to the period up to 2016-17.
The top five defaulting departments are Panchayati Raj , Education , Urban Development , Rural Development and Agriculture , the report said.
The CAG noted that despite the requirement of submitting Detailed Contingent Bills against the advance money withdrawn through Abstract Contingent Bills, DC bills against 22,130 AC bills of ₹9,205.76 crore were pending for submission.
"Non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline and enhances the risk of misappropriation of public money," it said.
For the financial year 2023-24, the total budget of Bihar was ₹3.26 lakh crore, the CAG said, noting that the state spent only ₹2.60 lakh crore or 79.92 per cent of the total budget.
"The State surrendered only ₹23,875.55 crore of its total savings of ₹65,512.05 crore. During the financial year 2023-24, the Liabilities of the State increased by 12.34 per cent over the previous year," it said.
"Internal debt contributed 59.26 per cent of the total outstanding liabilities of the State. Net liabilities under Internal Debt increased by 13.51 per cent , over the previous year," the report added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
State revenue dept tells Pune district administration to upload land allotment data
1 2 Pune: The state revenue department has directed the district administration to upload comprehensive records of govt land allotted to educational institutions and private entities as part of a transparency drive. In a letter dated July 21, the department instructed both Pune and Solapur districts to upload the data on their respective websites by July 23. The matter is slated for review at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on July 29. While Solapur met the deadline, Pune sought additional time and is expected to upload the data in the coming days, a senior state revenue official told TOI. "Both districts were directed to ensure full disclosure on their websites. We have received Solapur's report, and Pune's is awaited," the official said. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune Pune resident deputy collector Jyoti Kadam confirmed that the process is underway. "The data will be uploaded shortly as per the requirement," she said. The data of the land bank that has been allotted will soon be up on the department's website, she said. The department's directive follows repeated concerns over land allotted for public purposes being left idle or diverted for other use. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo A 2018–19 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report asked the state to make such data publicly accessible for audit and citizen scrutiny. The transparency drive is grounded in a govt resolution (GR) issued on Nov 26, 2012, which directed all district collectors to upload land allotment orders, circulars, and agreements by March 2013. However, compliance across districts has remained patchy, the CAG report stated. As per revenue department records, Mumbai city and Nagpur have uploaded data up to 2018–19, Pune has only done so till 2015, and Nashik, Thane, and Mumbai suburban are yet to upload any information, the letter stated. PAC has consistently emphasised that making land allotment records public is key to ensuring that govt land is used as originally intended. Officials acknowledged multiple instances where land granted for education or social welfare was either left unused or repurposed in violation of allotment terms. Activists have also highlighted the need for regular monitoring and public disclosure. "There have been violations recently, and the district administration has issued notices in several cases, however, no action was taken," said activist S Joshi. In 2023, the district administration identified 102 institutions — educational, charitable, and otherwise —for alleged breaches of lease or occupancy terms tied to govt land. Of these, action was taken against 16 and the remaining was to be carried out. However, due to the elections last year, the administration did not carry out any action. Over the past three decades, Pune district has allotted around 1,000 hectares of govt land on lease or occupancy terms to 1,480 institutions, making oversight and compliance monitoring a key concern.
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Time of India
HAM (S): Oppn baffled by high growth rate of Bihar
Patna: Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) has flayed the opposition for attacking the NDA govt in Bihar on the development front. As the opposition alleges financial irregularities pointed out in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, HAMS (S) national president and minister Santosh Suman on Friday said they were baffled by the high growth rate of Bihar under the good governance of the NDA govt. "The opposition allegations are baseless as they cannot see Bihar's GSDP increase by more than 10 times in the last two decades," Suman said. According to the CAG report tabled in the legislative assembly on Thursday, the state's GSDP in FY 2023-24 grew at 14.47% over the previous year and the revenue expenditure increased by 3.55% whereas its revenue receipts increased by 11.96% over the previous year. But the CAG report also pointed out that the state govt did not submit utilisation certificates of funds amounting to Rs70,877 crore. "The high pendency of utilisation certificates is fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of funds," the CAG report said. CPI(ML) politburo member Dhirendra Jha said the CAG report has exposed the functioning of the state govt and its so-called development model. "The CAG findings are shocking and bring out a grim picture of institutional corruption, administrative failure and economic mismanagement in the state," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She's 75 and Retiring - Her Handcrafted Jewelry Is 80% OFF Artisan Weekly Read More Undo The report also highlighted delays in the submission of detailed contingent (DC) bills, which are required to account for funds drawn using abstract contingent (AC) bills. As on March 2024, DC bills worth Rs 9,205 crore were pending against Rs22,130 AC bills. "Non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline and enhances the risk of misappropriation of public money," the CAG report said. However, the minor water resources department minister said Bihar registered a growth rate of 14.47% in 2023-24, which was 4.87% more than the national average. "Bihar, which is running at a fast pace on the track of development, has consistently maintained its double digits growth, except for the Corona period," Suman said. He said Bihar's growth rate in 2022-23 was 15.30%. Citing the CAG report, he said all the allegations of the opposition regarding Bihar's backwardness have been proved baseless. Suman said the opposition should now stop misleading the people with their false propaganda and accept the ground reality. "Before 2005, Bihar's GSDP was only Rs82,490 crore, which has now increased to Rs8.54 lakh crore. The more than 10-fold increase in our GSDP in the last two decades has been possible only due to the good governance of the NDA govt and the ban on corruption and loot in the state. This is real development!" he claimed.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Bihar Govt failed to submit utilisation certificates of projects worth over Rs 70,000 crore: CAG
The Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG ) in its report stated that the Bihar government has failed to submit utilisation certificates (UCs) for projects worth Rs 70,877 crore, raising concerns that funds might be 'misused'. The CAG report on the State Finances Audit for the year 2023-24 was tabled in the state assembly. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Public Policy Project Management Data Science Management CXO healthcare MBA Product Management Data Analytics others Artificial Intelligence Operations Management Digital Marketing Others Leadership Technology Degree Design Thinking PGDM Cybersecurity Healthcare MCA Finance Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details The CAG report states, "Despite the requirement of submitting Utilisation Certificates (UCs) within a stipulated time period, 49,649 outstanding UCs of Rs 70,877.61 crore were not received by the Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlements), Bihar, as on 31 March 2024. In the absence of UCs, there is no assurance that funds disbursed have been used for the intended purpose." "Moreover, high pendency of UCs is fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation, and diversion of funds," the report said. The CAG further noted, "Despite the requirement of submitting Detailed Contingent (DC) Bills against the advance money withdrawn through Abstract Contingent (AC) Bills, DC Bills against 22,130 AC bills of Rs 9,205.76 crore were pending for submission as on 31 March 2024." Live Events "Non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline and enhances the risk of misappropriation of public money," the report stated. As per the report, "Compliance with prevailing rules and codal provisions is meant to ensure control and accountability in accounting and financial reporting. Non-compliance and deviations impact the quality of accounting and financial reporting adversely." "Non-timely submission of UCs against grants; non-submission of DC bills against AC bills; and non-supply of details of expenditure from SNAs have impacted the quality of accounts adversely," the report further stated.
