CAG raps state for loose budget control, ailing medical education

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in its latest report on Bihar’s state of finances for the fiscal 2018-19, has put the government in the dock for failing to make realistic budgets, high expenditure during the last quarter of successive fiscal years and, most notably, on the poor state of medical education

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in its latest report on Bihar’s state of finances for the fiscal 2018-19, has put the government in the dock for failing to make realistic budgets, high expenditure during the last quarter of successive fiscal years and, most notably, on the poor state of medical education.

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The CAG report on state of finances for 2018-19 fiscal was placed in the Assembly on Tuesday by deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad along with two other reports on general, social and economic sectors for the financial year ending in March 2018.

The report highlights variations in the actual against the budget estimates for 2018-19, noting that revenue receipts in 2018-19 grew by ₹14,347 crore (12.22%) over 2017-18, but were lower than the budget estimates by ₹26,257 crore (16.61%). Similar gaps were found in expenditure and capital expenditure too.

“The finance department should rationalise budget preparation exercise so that the gap between budget estimates and actual is bridged,” the report has recommended.

Similarly, the CAG has taken strong exception to non-reconciliation of balance in personal deposit ( PD) accounts, which are accounts opened in treasury where any special purpose vehicle, board, authority, agency, society constituted by state government could receive money in any form be it grant or loan.

“Non-reconciliation of balances in PD accounts periodically and not transferring the unspent balances to consolidated fund of the state before the closure of financial year entails the risk of misuse of public funds, fraud and misappropriation,” the report has said.

The CAG has, however, given credit to the state government for keeping the ratio of fiscal deficit to GSDP ( gross state domestic product) to 2.48% which was well within the prescribed limit of BFRBM (Bihar Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management act and 14th finance commission for the year 2018-19.

On medical education in Bihar, the central audit body has given a thumbs-down to the government, observing that vacancies for physicians, Ayush doctors, dentists and nurses, were as high as 92 per cent, going by their numbers peer one lakh population.

The audit observed that against the construction of 12 medical colleges (including a dental college) taken up during 2006-07 to 2016-17,only two medical colleges became functional till 2018. Construction of only two nursing institutes could be completed till 2018 against the planned 61. “Government of Bihar did not make effective efforts to increase seats of existing medical colleges,” CAG report has said.

The audit body has also said that the shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff in all streams of medical education ranged from six to 56 per cent and eight to 70 per cent, respectively.

Deficiencies have also been found in infrastructure of medical institutions, which also face shortage of medical equipment in 20 departments in test-checked five medical colleges (GMC Bettiah, DMCH-Darbhanga, IGIMS, Patna, NMCH Patna, PMCH ,Patna).

Lastly, the CAG report on PSUs has pulled up the Bihar State Financial Corporation and Bihar State Warehousing Corporation for not placing the spate audit report to state legislature for one year and Bihar State Road Transport Corporation for last 32 years. The audit body has also detected shortcomings in the claims by DISCOMs of 100 per cent electrification in rural households by October 2018.