UDD lacks monitoring of ULB resources, says CAG

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 12: The Urban Development Department (UDD), Assam could not provide consolidated figures of actual receipts in respects of own revenues of all urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State. This smacks of the department’s lack of proper monitoring of revenue resources of ULBs, and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has caught the department on the wrong foot for this lapse.

In its report on local bodies for the year ended March 31, 2017, the CAG showed the trend of resources of ULBs for the period 2011-12 to 2015-16. According to the report, the time series data on ULB resources are (1) own revenue of Rs 151.57 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 190.04 crore in fiscal 2012-13 and such data are not available for fiscals 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Likewise, the amount of SFC transfers were Rs 189.68 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 149.59 crore in fiscal 2012-13, Rs 133.11 crore in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 169.07 crore in fiscal 2014-15 and the amount was not available for fiscal 2015-16.

The CFC transfers of the department were Rs 31.97 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 44.28 crore in fiscal 2012-13, nil in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 39.74 crore in fiscal 2014-15 and Rs 46.57 crore in fiscal 2015-16.

The interest of delayed payment of CFC grants were Rs 0.11 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 0.20 crore in fiscal 2012-13, Rs 0.12 crore in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 0.18 crore in fiscal 2014-15 and nil in fiscal 2015-16. Resources from state-sponsored schemes (SSS) were Rs 16.13 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 4.14 crore in fiscal 2012-13, Rs 8.22 crore in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 12.29 crore in fiscal 2014-15 and Rs 0.91 crore in fiscal 2015-16.

Government of India’s grants for CSS were Rs 24.09 crore in fiscal 2011-12, Rs 33.41 crore in fiscal 2012-13, Rs 25.57 crore in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 11.03 crore in fiscal 2014-15 and Rs 15.17 crore in fiscal 2015-16.

Thus it has shown that the UDD lacks monitoring of own revenue resources of ULBs as it could not provide consolidated figures of actual receipts in respect of own revenues of all ULBs in the State. Under SFC transfers, no funds were released to the ULBs during the 2015-16 as the State Government had entrusted 5th ASFC to revisit the report in view of recommendation of 14th FC.