PATNA: A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has stirred up a political storm in Bihar, with Opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav alleging financial irregularities, while Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary rejected the claims, countering that the figures largely relate to the period when Tejashwi was in the Grand Alliance government.
According to the CAG report tabled during the recently concluded monsoon session of the assembly, as of March 31,2024 the state government had not received utilisation certificates for Rs 70,877.61 crore and had failed to provide detailed contingent bills worth Rs 9,205.76 crore to the CAG despite reminders.
The government’s failure to provide utilisation certificates of unaccounted sums prompted Opposition leaders to rake the issue. “The government’s silence suggests ‘irregularity’. Nearly Rs 80,000 crore had gone unaccounted for,” Tejashswi said.
Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, who also holds finance portfolio, accused Tejashwi of spreading misinformation. “Delay in submitting bills does not mean any scam. If there is a scam, it relates to the period when he (Tejashwi) was in the government,” Choudhary told the media.
He said the finance department’s principal secretary has clarified that 2024 saw the lowest number of pending utilisation certificates in last five years and Rs 50,000 crore worth of bills have been adjusted in the last four months alone. “This is a continuous process and, not an instance of financial wrongdoing,” he said.
In MP, fertiliser fund spent on cooperative vehicles
The Fertiliser Development Fund (FDF) meant for the welfare of farmers in Madhya Pradesh was spent mainly on the use of vehicles by the state’s Registrar of Cooperative Societies during the five-year period 2017–18 to 2021–22, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) revealed on Thursday.
Report flags Irregularities
During financial year 2023-24, GDPS of State grew at 14.47% over the previous year and revenue expenditure increased by 3.55%, revenue loss rose by 11.96%
For financial year 2023-24, State budget stood at `3,26,230.12 cr, State spent `2,60,718.07 cr (79.92% of total)
CAG report flagged off financial irregularities, including pending `49,649 cr, utilisation certificates, amounting to `70,877 cr as on March 31, 2024
Audit report highlighted that AC Bills worth `22,130 cr were pending for submission of detailed contingency Bills as of March 31,2024
Committed expenditure, which includes interest payments and salaries accounted for 36.89% of revenue expenditure and 36.35% of revenue receipt in 2023-24