CAG Flags ‘Unrealistic’ Assam Budget Estimates, Cites Major Savings And Missing Accounts

The Assam government’s financial planning for 2023–24 has come under sharp scrutiny, with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagging “unrealistic and overestimated” budget assumptions and significant gaps in utilisation and accountability. According to PTI, the findings were tabled in the state Assembly on Saturday through the CAG’s report on state finances.

The audit noted that the government spent Rs 1,39,449.66 crore against total grants and appropriations of Rs 1,69,966.13 crore, leaving savings of Rs 30,516.47 crore — nearly 18 per cent of the year’s allocation. But these savings, the report pointed out, were “notional”, as actual receipts stood at Rs 1,38,830.79 crore, far below the estimated Rs 1,65,215.70 crore. PTI reported that only 0.35 per cent of the savings — Rs 107.08 crore — was formally surrendered, limiting the possibility of reallocating funds to departments that needed them.

The CAG observed that supplementary grants worth Rs 30,210.86 crore were cleared during the year, although audit review showed that just 74.19 per cent of this amount was actually required. “Seeking supplementary grants without a requirement is indicative of poor budgetary management by the state government. Further, it is also clear that there is an absence of allocative efficiency and utilisation efficiency by departments, which led to excess expenditure in some grants and savings in others,” the report stated.

The audit also highlighted longstanding issues in financial reporting. A total of 6,335 Utilisation Certificates (UCs), amounting to Rs 18,669.55 crore for the period between 2005–06 and 2022–23, had not been submitted. Without these UCs, auditors were unable to determine whether funds were used for their intended purposes. PTI reported that as of 31 March 2024, 485 annual accounts of 75 autonomous or development councils and other government bodies, along with 245 annual accounts of 39 public sector undertakings (due up to 2023–24), remained pending.

The CAG said that these delays undermined effective budget control and weakened accountability across institutions. It recommended that the state “may formulate a realistic budget based on reliable assumptions of likely resource mobilisation, the assessed needs of the departments and their capacity to utilise the allocated resources so as to avoid inflated budgeting without corresponding to the available resources”. It further advised the Finance Department to review departments with repeated savings to ensure “realistic budget allocation and monitoring of expenditure”.

(With inputs from PTI)