Dispur goof-ups under CAG glare

Over Rs 1,500 crore DC bills pending, many AC bills drawn at year-end to exhaust budget

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, May 31: It is a classic case of fincial mismagement that has become the hallmark of the Assam government.

As per the Assam Contingency Manual --- Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) are authorized to draw sums of money for limited purposes by preparing Abstract Contingency (AC) bills.

The term "contingent charges'' or "contingencies'' means and includes all incidental other expenses (including on stores) which are incurred for the magement of an office or for the working of technical establishments such as laboratory, workshop, industrial installation, store depot and similar works other than expenditure which are already budgeted.

Subsequently, Detailed Contingency (DC) bills - vouchers in support of fil expenditure - are required to be sent so as to reach the Principal Accountant General (A&E) not later than 25 of the following month.

Prolonged non-submission of DC bills renders the expenditure under AC bills opaque.

The CAG noted that as the DC bills were not submitted, the expenditure shown in the fince accounts cannot be vouched as correct or fil.

According to the CAG, the number of pending DC bills as on 2013-14 was 5,329 which amount to Rs 1,549 crore.

Large number of DC bills are pending with the Secretariat Administration department – 170 bills amounting to Rs 392.21 crore. There are 3,800 DC bills in the Home department amounting to Rs 372.54 crore.

Out of Rs 440.93 crore drawn against AC bills in 2013-14, 336 AC bills amounting to Rs 213.62 crore were drawn in March 2014, of which AC bills for Rs 51.12 crore were drawn on the last day of the fincial year. Significant expenditure against AC bills at the fag end of the year indicates that the drawal was primarily to exhaust the Budget which points to idequate budgetary control, the CAG audit noted.