Assam PRIs Default UCs of Rs 3,971 Crore: CAG Report

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the state have not submitted utilization certificates (UCs) of Rs 3,971 crore to the P&RD Department. In the absence of UCs, it could not be ascertained whether the recipients have utilized the funds for the purposes for which they were given, the CAG observed.

The CAG report on local bodies said, “Own sources of revenue of PRIs showed a declining trend during the last five years, indicating lack of initiative by PRIs to increase their own sources of revenues and reduce their dependence on government grants.”

The report said that there were 456 UCs amounting to Rs 3971 crore outstanding for grants paid from 2001-02 to 2021-22 to the P&RD Department. Own sources of revenues of local bodies during the period from 2018-19 to 2022-23 ranged only between Rs 2.09 percent and 6.15 percent with most of the resources coming from central finance commission grants and state finance commission grants. The own sources of revenue of PRIs showed a declining trend.

The audit observed that the internal controlling mechanism in the PRIs as well as the controlling department was lacking. It was observed that cash book balances were not reconciled with the bank balances. As no reconciliation was done by the PRIs, discrepancies between cash books and bank pass books remained undetected. Thus, failure to reconcile the cash books, in terms of provisions of the financial rules and manuals, indicates irregularities in cash management. It could also facilitate fraud and embezzlement of government money. So, the government should take immediate steps to mobilize the PRIs for regular reconciliation of balances and fix responsibilities for non-maintenance of vital records.

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