The model of power-sharing governance through the creation of autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution inspired the formation of statutory autonomous councils through acts passed by the Assam Assembly to fulfil aspirations of six tribal communities - Tiwa, Mising, Rabha, Deori, Sonowal Kachari and Thengal Kachari. The upcoming elections for the Mising Autonomous Council and the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council have highlighted the roles and responsibilities of statutory autonomous councils in the state. Additionally, the state government created 33 development councils to strengthen decentralised governance and delegated authority to these councils to formulate various development schemes and projects based on local priorities and needs. While the clamour for upgrading the statutory autonomous councils to councils under the Sixth Schedule has increased, an official review of their functioning, which reveals poor financial management, raises concerns about how these councils will handle an increased flow of funds if they are granted more autonomy, similar to the existing three autonomous councils in Sixth Schedule areas. The State Finances Audit Report of the Government of Assam for 2024-25 published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India lays bare the harsh realities of poor financial management in autonomous councils. Overlooking the CAG findings as routine accounting of fund release and expenditure risks defeating the very objective of empowering the tribal communities with autonomy for fulfilling their aspirations for protection and preservation of their culture, identity and heritage. The CAG authorities have revealed that they had not received 494 annual accounts from 75 Autonomous Councils/Development Councils/Government Bodies/Authorities (due up to 2024-25) for audit as of September 2025. Of these pending annual accounts, seven accounts pertained to three Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule, while 350 pending accounts pertained to 25 Autonomous and District Councils, which have not submitted their accounts since their inception. The CAG report expressed apprehension that "delayed rendering of accounts by the account rendering units/authorities distorted the accurate depiction of monthly transactions of the State and impacted effective budgetary management and diluted accountability of these Bodies," which is a genuine concern flagged by the apex financial watchdog of the country and calls for urgent measures to address it. The recommendation of the CAG in its report to link the disbursal of financial assistance to ADCs/autonomous bodies to improvements in the finalisation of their accounts is a pragmatic suggestion to ensure accountability for every single rupee disbursed to these autonomous bodies for the specific developmental needs of various ethnic communities. It is urgently necessary for the state government to develop a concrete plan to clear arrears in accounts for the autonomous bodies that have been persistently delaying or defaulting, as recommended by the CAG. As these autonomous institutions were created to fulfil the aspirations of the tribal and other communities, the responsibility to seek accountability of fund utilisation also lies with the people belonging to the communities. Transparency of fund use is critical to building confidence among the people about how funds released to the autonomous councils have been used so that they can also come up with their list of priorities for planning for the next financial years to ensure that there is no overlap of developmental work undertaken by the council bodies and various government departments and development agencies. People can be expected to play such a vital role only when they are empowered to understand the basic power and functions of these autonomous councils and the process of disbursal and utilisation of funds. The issue of the role and primary responsibilities of elected council members and appointed officials to make the governance and function of autonomous councils robust, transparent and beneficial to the people is relegated to the background, while public discourse is often dominated by electioneering on petty issues and political slugfest. Until the issue of financial management of the council bodies gains prominence in public discourse, the democratic exercise of electing a new set of representatives cannot improve their functioning or end the chronic problem of underutilisation, poor utilisation, or misutilisation of funds disbursed by the state government. Persistence of such problems even after decades of their establishment also points towards a systemic gap in the overall financial management of the state and speaks volumes about various departments not being sincere enough to reconcile the accounts with the disbursal of funds and utilisation. When resource-deficit states like Assam are heavily dependent on central government assistance for fast-tracking development works and various welfare measures, timely and judicious utilisation of funds is critical to improving the fund flow for every single development project and programme. It is time for the state to prioritise the capacity building of autonomous councils in order to strengthen their financial reporting systems. Autonomous councils creating dashboards to inform government and people about fund release, physical progress of projects, and utilisation certificate submissions can strengthen and ensure transparency and accountability.