CAG stories on States: From warning Gujarat of a ‘debt lure’ to flagging abysmal plight of Bihar hospitals

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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)’s audit stories on varied states have been tabled of their respective Assemblies in current days. Here is a take a look at the CAG stories’ key findings on Gujarat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala and Odisha:

Gujarat

The highlights of the CAG report, which was tabled within the Gujarat Assembly on March 31, are as follows:

* Warns the state authorities about falling right into a “debt trap” and advises it to work out a “well-thought-out borrowing-repayment strategy” to keep away from it. Points out that the federal government must pay 61% of the whole debt within the subsequent 7 years, which can put pressure on its sources.

* Without mentioning the Covid pandemic, the CAG report states that in 2020-21, Gujarat turned income deficit for the primary time since 2011-12. And that the federal government had understated the income deficit by Rs 10,997 crore.

* Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the state in 2020-21 revised its focused road-length by one-third and ended the yr with 54% of the launched funds unspent.

* Says state PSUs in Gujarat have amassed losses of Rs 30,400 crore, and notes that the federal government continues to put money into them, just like the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, regardless of their internet value having eroded fully.

* Points out that subsidies offered by the state authorities have doubled in 5 years to Rs 22,141 crore on the finish of 2020-21.

Bihar

The CAG report on Bihar for 2020 was tabled within the state Assembly on March 30. Its key findings are as follows:

* Three of 5 sampled district hospitals have been wanting 52-92% beds and none of them had an operation theatre, whereas the ICU facility was out there in solely considered one of them. Four hospitals in encephalitis-prone areas had no testing facility for Japanese Encephalitis.

* Under the Namami Gange programme, there was insufficient planning for sewage therapy in Patna because the sanctioned capability of the sewage therapy crops (STP) was capable of deal with solely half of sewage.

* The arrears as on March 31, 2020, in respect of principal heads of income, amounted to Rs 4,584.73 crore, of which Rs 1,357.78 crore was excellent for greater than 5 years.

Maharashtra

The main findings of the CAG report on Maharashtra, which was tabled within the state Assembly final week, are as follows:

* The Maharashtra authorities’s implementation of the centrally-sponsored Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) was fraught with delays and ineffective monitoring. As towards whole grants (central and state) of Rs 376.97 crore, the federal government might spend solely Rs 283.07 crore, leaving an unspent steadiness of Rs 93.90 crore.

* A big space of ​​a market constructing constructed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) beneath the Accommodation Reservation Scheme was both not utilized or was mendacity vacant. The MCGM constructs, maintains, and regulates public markets on the market of fruits, greens, meat and so on.

The progress in redevelopment of current dilapidated markets and rehabilitation of store house owners was poor.

* The development of sewage therapy crops in prohibited zone, which needed to be demolished, resulted in wasteful expenditure of Rs 3.25 crore.

* The delay within the grant of revised administrative approval to an incomplete hydroelectric challenge, for which an expenditure of Rs 250.03 crore has been incurred, resulted in blocking of funds for greater than six years.

* The lack of coordination between the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board, the collector, Mumbai suburban district, and the MCGM resulted in idling of multipurpose middle constructed at a value of Rs 5.71 crore at Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai for over 5 years.

* Incorrect estimation of taxable earnings and consequent brief fee of advance earnings tax resulted in avoidable fee of curiosity of Rs 2.36 crore for the monetary yr 2017-18.

* The failure to accumulate land for development of a canal resulted in unfruitful expenditure of Rs 15.20 crore on the development of a dam.

Kerala

These are the highlights of the CAG report for 2020-21, which was just lately tabled within the Kerala Assembly.

* Kerala’s fiscal deficit elevated from Rs 26,448.35 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 40,969.69 crore in 2020-21.

* The improve in fiscal deficit by Rs 17,132.22 crore throughout 2020-21 over the earlier yr was primarily as a result of internet impact of improve in income deficit (Rs 11,334.25 crore), lower in non-debt capital receipts (Rs 24.83 crore), improve in capital expenditure (Rs 4,434.85 crore) and improve in disbursement of loans and advances (Rs 1,338.29 crore).

* 60.94% of the whole income expenditure was incurred on dedicated bills — on salaries and wages (Rs 28767.46 crore), curiosity fee (Rs 20975.36 crore), pension funds (Rs 18942.85 crore), and subsidies (Rs 6547.48 crore).

* The state’s excellent public debt on the finish of 2020-21 was Rs 2,05,447.73 crore, comprising inside debt (Rs 1,90,474.09 crore) and loans and advances from the central authorities (Rs 14,973.64 crore).

Odisha

The CAG report was tabled within the Odisha Assembly on March 31. The key findings of the CAG’s efficiency audit on floor irrigation and its audit of the state funds are as follows:

* The CAG report finds that incomplete irrigation initiatives since Nineteen Eighties have seen a value escalation starting from 182% to 4,596%. Of the seven initiatives audited, three have been accomplished up to now. The whole preliminary value was estimated at Rs 955.73 crore. However, the revised estimate stands at Rs 19,103.63 crore, of which Rs 12,742.11 crore has been spent up to now. Even although the quantity spent is 66.69% of the whole revised value, the world lined is simply 24% of the goal space. So far the irrigation initiatives have lined 1,22,418 hectares towards the proposed space protection of 5,02,842 hectares.

* The Odisha authorities’s income receipts (Rs 1,04,387 crore) constituted 20.49% of the Gross State Domestic Product (Rs 5,09,574 crore) throughout 2020-21. The state’s income expenditure (Rs 95,311 crore) was 18.70% of the GSDP for 2020-21, which decreased by Rs 3,826 crore (3.86 per cent) over 2019-20 (Rs 99,137 crore).

* In 2020-21, the state’s whole financial savings have been Rs 43,554.13 crore, out of which Rs 32,556.37 crore (74.75%) was surrendered on the final day of the yr ie, March 31, 2021. The remaining financial savings of Rs 10,997.76 crore (25.25) %) weren’t surrendered throughout 2020-21.

West Bengal

Here are the highlights of the CAG report tabled within the West Bengal Assembly on March 28:

* In March 2020 and February 2021, the Bengal authorities amended the FRBM Act with regard to the targets for the six-year interval from 2019-20 to 2024-25 prospectively. The state’s fiscal parameters as mirrored in its income and financial deficits have been destructive throughout 2016-21. The state additionally had major deficits throughout 2017-21.

* The state’s liabilities have been rising year-on-year and over 58.84% of the market borrowings throughout 2020-21 have been utilized to steadiness its income account that led to limiting the asset creation.

* The state’s excellent public debt on the finish of 2020-21 has elevated by 12.92%. In the following three, 5 and 7 years, the debt maturity will likely be 15.49, 26.60 and 41.42%, respectively, of the whole excellent public debt (Rs 4,24,247 crore).

* In respect of 65 Autonomous Bodies (ABs), which have been to render their annual accounts to the CAG, two District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) didn’t submit accounts since their inception in 1998-99. As of 30 September 2021, 288 annual accounts of ABs due as much as 2020-21 remained pending. This factors to “inadequate internal controls” and “deficient monitoring mechanism” of varied state authorities departments.

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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS

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