Assam Budget 2023-24 Called Unrealistic: CAG Flags Excessive Supplementary Grants and Poor Financial Management

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Guwahati: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticized the Assam government's budgetary assumptions for 2023-24, terming them 'unrealistic and overestimated.' In its latest report on state finances, the CAG pointed out that the government incurred an expenditure of ₹1,39,449.66 crore against grants and appropriations of ₹1,69,966.13 crore, resulting in overall savings of ₹30,516.47 crore. The CAG report highlighted that these savings were 'notional,' as the funds were not actually available for expenditure due to lower actual receipts. The government had estimated ₹1,65,215.70 crore, but only ₹1,38,830.79 crore were received. The CAG criticized the government's poor financial management, noting that only 0.35% of the savings were surrendered, depriving other departments from utilizing the amount. The report also raised concerns over the approval of supplementary grants worth ₹30,210.86 crore, but found that only 74.19% of it was actually required. The CAG noted that this indicates 'poor budgetary management' and 'absence of allocative efficiency and utilisation efficiency' by departments. Furthermore, the CAG report pointed out that 6,335 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) aggregating to ₹18,669.55 crore were not submitted between 2005-06 and 2022-23. The absence of UCs hinders the verification of whether funds were utilized for intended purposes. Additionally, 485 annual accounts of autonomous councils, development councils, and government bodies, and 245 annual accounts of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are pending for submission to the CAG for audit. The CAG has recommended that the state government formulate a realistic budget based on reliable assumptions and assess the needs of departments. The Finance department is also advised to review departments with persistent savings for realistic budget allocation and monitoring of expenditure.