Bihar seeks to reduce pendency of bills submission after rap from CAG

UCs worth ₹90,000 crore was pending with various departments including ₹26000 cr with the panchayati raj department followed by ₹17000 cr by the education department and ₹8000 crore by the health department as on March 31st, 2021.

The Bihar government departments are scampering to submit utilization certificates (UCs) and detailed contingent (DC) bills against use of government funds in the last few years to the accountant general (AG) of the state, weeks after the pendency was red flagged by the comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG), officials said.

Bihar government has received rap on the knuckles from the CAG on pending submission of expenditure documents. (ANI)

Over 30 state government departments were read the riot act by the chief secretary to clear the pendency and submit the documents to the AG office, which had flagged pending UCs and DC bills for reconciliation and submission at the earliest, an official in the finance department said on condition of anonymity.

They said UCs worth ₹90,000 crore was pending with various departments including ₹26000 cr with the panchayati raj department followed by ₹17000 cr by the education department and ₹8000 crore by the health department as on March 31st, 2021.

Similarly, submission of abstract contingent (AC) bills worth ₹13,500 crore is pending as on March 31st, 20201 as per AG records sent to the state government, the finance department official quoted above said.

The panchayati raj department on Friday issued a letter to district panchayati raj officers to ensure that gram panchayats and other rural local bodies submit the UCs of central funds utilised in 2018-19 by August 5 and also asked for submission of UCs from 2019-20 by 30 September.

“The pendency of UCs as indicated by the AG is not only of recent years but some as old as 2002-03. We are working on it and directives have been issued to major departments to lessen the pendency of UCs and DC bills. There is a drive underway to reduce the pendency of UCs and focus is on 16 major departments where pendency is high,” another officer said on condition of anonymity

UCs are documents of expenditure made against grants in aid made to departments for specific purpose while DCs bills are final vouchers of expenditure details against withdrawal of public funds from state treasuries by various departments against abstract contingent (AC) bills.

UCs have to be submitted within 18 months of withdrawal while DCs have to be submitted within six months of withdrawal of ACs to the AG office, as per rules.

Last week, additional deputy CAG (eastern region) Rakesh Mohan had flagged the issue of outstanding UCs during his interaction with deputy chief minister cum finance minister Tarkishore Prasad and other senior officials. He had said UCs worth ₹55000 crore were pending as on 2018-19.

Mohan, in a media interaction had pointed out that the “delay in submission of such vouchers leave ample scope of financial misappropriation”.

He had also censured the state government for making unrealistic budgets and parking of funds in personal ledger accounts and personal deposit accounts.

Additional chief secretary, panchayat raj department Amrit Lal Meena said his department has set a target for bringing down the pendency.

“We are aware there is a pendency of UCs around ₹26,000 crore. A drive has started for submission of UCs by gram panchayats against funds given under 14 finance commission, fifth state finance commission and the state plan. The pendency of UCs would be brought down to ₹10,000 crore by December this year,” Meena said.

Meanwhile, principal secretary, finance S Siddharth said instructions have been issued to departments to submit the UCs and DC bills on a priority basis so that it could be submitted to the AG office.