₹65K-cr spending: CAG indicts Fadnavis govt over missing certificates

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), tabled on the final day of the winter session of the state Legislative Assembly, indicted the previous government,

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), tabled on the final day of the winter session of the state Legislative Assembly, indicted the previous government, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis, for failing to submit utilisation certificates (UC) for funds amounting to ₹65,921.35 crore as of March 31, 2018. The CAG report stated that the non-submission of UC for spending ₹65,921.35 crore runs the risk of misappropriation of funds as well as fraud.

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State finance minister Jayant Patil said his government would examine the CAG report and if there was any misappropriation of funds, it would probe the matter accordingly. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who was in Pune, too, expressed concern over the financial health of the state and sought an inquiry into the report.

Fadnavis, however, said that the CAG pointing out some “lapses” doesn’t mean that it was corruption or misappropriation. “There were several such instances in the previous Congress-NCP government where UCs were not submitted for spending funds by different departments,” he said. The former CM suggested that the current government should look into the matter and ensure that such compliances are made in time by the departments concerned, so that no government faces strictures from the CAG.

According to the Bombay Financial Planning Rules, 1959, for grants received during a year for specific purposes, a UC should be obtained by the department officials.

According to the CAG report, the total number of UCs not submitted, till March 31, 2018, stood at 32,570, worth ₹65,921.35 crore. The report stated that 46% of the missing UCs were not submitted by the urban development department, which was then headed by Fadnavis.

Other departments named in the report include school, education, sports, planning, public health departments, among others. However, the report does not mention since when the missing UCs have been piling up.

While indicting the government, the CAG said that the non-submission of UCs indicated the lack of proper monitoring of utilisation of grants sanctioned for specific purposes by the department concerned.

Besides, the report stated, there was no assurance that the money was actually incurred for the purpose for which it was sanctioned or authorised by the legislature during the financial year concerned.

According to the report, high pendency of UCs was fraught with the risk of misappropriation of funds and fraud and that it defeats the very purpose of legislative control over the public purse.