GUWAHATI, April 6 - The State government�s compliance with various rules, procedures and directives for the year ended March 2017 was unsatisfactory, as 11,641 utilization certificates (UCs) in respect of grants aggregating Rs 24,907.26 crore paid to 53 departments during the period from 2001-02 to 2016-17 were in arrears.
This was the observation of the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on State Finances for the year ended March 31, 2017. The report was tabled in the Assembly today.
Shockingly, of the 53 departments, 19 departments even failed to submit UCs in respect of grants released to them during the period 2001-02.
�In the absence of UCs, the audit could not ascertain whether the recipients had utilized the grants for the purposes for which those were given,� the report said.
Noting that non-submission of UCs is fraught with the risk of misappropriation, the CAG Report said that delays figured in submission of annual accounts by some of the autonomous bodies/councils, as 29 accounts were in arrears for periods ranging from one to 151 months.
Also in arrear were 491 annual accounts of 90 PSUs, government bodies and authorities.
�Delay in finalization of
accounts carries the risk of financial irregularities going undetected apart from violation of the provisions of the respective legislations under which the bodies were constituted,� it stated.
The report added that the audit mentioned similar observations in earlier audit reports of CAG, �but the State government did not make efforts to ensure submission of UCs by the respective departments within the prescribed timeframe.�
