Friday, 23 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | BHARADISAIN
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has raised a question mark over the financial management of Uttarakhand government in its State finances audit report for the year which ended in March 2023. The report was tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.
In a serious indictment of the State government, the CAG report has revealed that expenditure exceeding 50 per cent of the total expenditure for the year 2022-23 was incurred in March. This shows how the government departments try to dispose of the budget in the last month of the financial year.
The report mentions that a staggering 77.55 per cent of yearly allocation was done in March under the Power head and 73.55 per cent expenditure was done in March under capital outlay for medium irrigation. The report mentions that 76.28 per cent expenditure under eight major heads was incurred in the last quarter of the FY 2022-23. The CAG report also points out that varying levels of expenditure have occurred in different state programmes and schemes. It mentions that not even a single rupee was spent out of the budget provision of Rs 14.90 crore in the Eja- Boi Shagun scheme for pregnant women.
The CAG report has advised that the State government should be more realistic in the budgetary estimates and ensure efficient control mechanisms to curtail savings. It also suggests that the State government may assess the savings and surrender the amount well before the close of the FY so that they can be effectively utilized in other areas/ schemes.
