Assam: UCs worth over Rs 18,000 crore still pending: Who are at fault?

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Utilization certificates (UCs) worth over Rs 18,000 crore of various departments of the Assam Government have been pending over the years. Who is at fault for such a lapse?

According to the CAG report, from 2005-06 to 2022-23, various departments of the state government have not submitted UCs worth Rs 18,669 crore. Apart from this, various departments of the state have pending UCs worth Rs 4,571 crore in 2023-24 alone. "In the absence of UCs, it couldn't be ascertained whether the recipients had utilised the grants for the purposes for which those were given," the CAG report said.

According to official sources, most of the departments get some grants at the fag-end of the financial year. It leaves the departments no time to utilise the funds. If the departments get the funds earmarked for them in the annual budget in time, they can utilise the money properly. However, this is not happening on the ground, official sources said.

Speaking to The Sentinel, a retired officer said, "Departments' allocations are fixed at the time of preparing the annual budget. It is the prime duty of the Finance Department to release the funds earmarked in the budget to the departments concerned in time. However, the practice of rigorous queries by the Finance Department on the proposals of various departments leads to the release of funds at the fag-end of the financial year when the departments get little time to spend them. Since the funds are earmarked for departments in the budget, the Finance Department should release the funds in phases. If the departments concerned cannot utilise the funds within the year, the government can fix the responsibilities on them."

The CAG report said, "The grant shall be spent for the intended purpose and within a reasonable time if no time limit has been fixed by the sanctioning authority. And any portion of the amount which is ultimately not required for expenditure for the purpose shall be duly surrendered to the government."

The CAG report further said, "The Finance Department directed all departments to clear their respective pending UCs with the office of AG (Auditor General). As a result, arrears in submission of UCs show a marked decline from 14,159 UCs to 6,335 UCs."

According to the CAG report, UCs worth Rs 323 crore of 2009-10, Rs 912 crore of 2014-14, Rs 1199 crore of 2018-19, Rs 3584 crore of 2019-20, Rs 2122 crore of 2020-21, and Rs 5158 crore of 2022-23 are still pending.

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