SHILLONG, March 28: Six defaulting departments have not submitted their utilisation certificates for a total of Rs 2,275.33 crore received as grants-in-aid, the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed.
These departments are Community and Rural Development (Rs 1,137.40 crore, which is 47.92% of the amount received), Planning (Rs 457.58 crore, 19.28%), Health and Family Welfare (Rs 272.22 crore, 11.47%), Social Welfare (Rs 198.99 crore, 8.38%), Education and Human Resource (Rs 171.78 crore, 7.24%) and Border Areas Development (Rs 37.36 crore, 1.57%).
The report said in the absence of the UCs, it could not be ascertained whether or not the recipients had utilised the grants for the purposes for which these were disbursed.
“Further, it is likely that the funds received were not spent and were being held in the bank accounts of the respective departments. In the absence of the UCs being submitted by the departments, it is impossible to gauge the implementation status of the scheme for which funds have been received,” the report said.
Since huge pendency in the submission of the UCs is fraught with the risk of fraud and misappropriation of funds, the CAG said it is imperative for the state government to monitor this aspect closely and not only hold the persons concerned accountable for the submission of the UCs in a timely manner to the Finance Department and the Principal Accountant General (A&E) but also review the disbursement of further grants to the defaulting departments.
The CAG said that the non-submission of the UCs means that the authorities have not explained how funds were spent over the years, adding there is also no assurance that the intended objectives of providing these funds have been achieved. This assumes greater importance if such UCs are pending against grants-in-aid meant for capital expenditure, its report pointed out.
According to the report, at the close of March 2022, 307 UCs amounting to Rs 2,373.51 crore remained outstanding in the books of the PAG (A&E), Meghalaya.
In addition, the CAG report revealed that the autonomous district councils in Meghalaya have not been able to submit the UCs for a majority of the grants from the Centre.
Out of Rs 385.71 crore received as a Central grant during 2017-22, the ADCs could submit UCs for only Rs 129.63 crore (34% of the amount) of the total fund allotted, the report said.
The United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District Council was set up in June 1952 under Article 244(2) read with the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. The council was bifurcated in 1967 and the Jowai District Council was carved out of it.
In 1973, the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District Council and the Jowai District Council were renamed as Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) respectively. The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) was set up in June 1952 under Article 244(2) read with the Sixth Schedule. The report stated: “As per the Fund Rules of JHADC and GHADC, the annual accounts were to be submitted to the PAG (Audit) by June 30 of each year but no prescribed date was mentioned in the Fund Rules of the KHADC.”
The annual accounts of the ADCs were in arrears for two to six years, it said.
The report also stated that persistent delay in the finalisation of accounts is fraught with the risk of fraud and leakage of public money going undetected.
“The state government may advise the ADCs to finalise the arrear accounts and submit them to the Principal Accountant General (Audit),” the report said.
