CAG terms Assam budget 2023-24 unrealistic, flags poor fund management

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has termed the Assam government’s budgetary assumptions for 2023-24 as “unrealistic and overestimated,” highlighting lapses in fund utilisation, supplementary grants, and reporting by autonomous councils and other bodies.

The CAG report on state finances for 2023-24, laid in the Assembly on Saturday, noted that the state incurred an expenditure of Rs 1,39,449.66 crore against grants and appropriations of Rs 1,69,966.13 crore, resulting in overall savings of Rs 30,516.47 crore, or 17.95% of the total allocation.

However, the report described the savings as largely “notional,” since actual receipts were Rs 1,38,830.79 crore against estimated receipts of Rs 1,65,215.70 crore. Of the total savings, only Rs 107.08 crore (0.35%) was surrendered, depriving other departments of potential utilisation, a sign of “poor” financial management.

The report further revealed that supplementary grants totaling Rs 30,210.86 crore were approved, of which only 74.19% was actually required, indicating inefficiencies in budget allocation and utilisation.

Highlighting gaps in accountability, the CAG noted that 6,335 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) totaling Rs 18,669.55 crore, spanning 2005-06 to 2022-23, remain unsubmitted. Additionally, 485 annual accounts of 75 autonomous councils and development bodies, along with 245 annual accounts of 39 PSUs, are pending submission, impacting effective budgetary management.

The CAG recommended that the state government formulate a “realistic budget based on reliable assumptions of resource mobilisation and departmental capacities,” and urged a review of departments with persistent savings to improve budget allocation and monitoring.