NEW DELHI: The Central autonomous bodies (CABs) under the Ministry of Education did not utilise up to Rs 4,553.85 crore of grants allotted to them during 2022–23.
This figure has put the ministry at the top of the list of Central ministries and departments in the category of non-utilisation of grants, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said. The CAG report on non-utilisation of funds was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
The CAG report says that the overall grants released to CABs during 2022–23 aggregated at Rs 1,13,012 crore, of which the maximum of 48.43% pertained to the Ministry of Education.
Out of the Rs 54,732.16 crore released in grants for it, the autonomous bodies have reported Rs 4,553.85 crore as unutilised, the CAG said. This amounts to 33.82% of the overall unutilised grant across ministries by the end of the financial year, which works out to Rs 12,464.22 crore. The education ministry had 198 CABs under it.
The CAG also pulled up the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous body established in September 1994 to assess and accredit higher education institutions in India.
“As of March 2022, 31.92% of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) were accredited, but 56.26% and 76.22% of Universities and Colleges respectively were not accredited though eligible for accreditation,” the report said.
The the audtor general also noted many irregularities, like the Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar, IIT-Guwahati, and IIT-Bombay reimbursing their faculty members for the purchase of notebooks, laptops, desktops and tablets from Cumulative Professional Development Allowance from 2016 to 2023, which was not allowed according to regulations.
The report also notes another finding, where the Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, was found to have irregularly reimbursed leave encashment to its hiring agencies causing a loss of Rs 76.31 lakh.
