Bihar government failed to provide utilisation certificate of Rs 70,000 crore: CAG report

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Bihar government for failing to submit utilisation certificates for works worth Rs 70,877 crore.

CAG’s report for the financial year 2023-24 on the state’s finances was presented in the state assembly on Thursday.

The report said, “Despite the condition of submitting utilisation certificates within the prescribed time limit, the Accountant General (Accounts and Entitlements), Bihar did not receive 49,649 outstanding utilisation certificates worth Rs 70,877.61 crore till March 31, 2024.”

The report said that in the absence of utilisation certificates, there is no guarantee that the disbursed funds have been used for the intended purpose.

Moreover, pending utilisation certificates pose a risk of embezzlement, misuse and misappropriation of funds.

Out of the total amount of Rs 70,877.61 crore, Rs 14,452.38 crore pertains to the period up to FY 2016-17.

According to the report, the departments with the highest non-payments include Panchayati Raj (Rs 28,154.10 crore), Education (Rs 12,623.67 crore), Urban Development (Rs 11,065.50 crore), Rural Development (Rs 7,800.48 crore) and Agriculture (Rs 2,107.63 crore).

CAG said that the total budget of the state for the financial year 2023-24 was Rs 3.26 lakh crore and the state spent only Rs 2.60 lakh crore i.e. 79.92 per cent of the total budget.

According to the report, “The state returned only Rs 23,875.55 crore (36.44 per cent) out of its total savings of Rs 65,512.05 crore. The state’s liabilities during FY 2023-24 increased by 12.34 per cent as compared to the previous year.”