The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has said that though revenue receipts of the State showed a progressive increase, the annual growth rate came down sharply to 9.11 per cent during 2012-13 from 21 per cent in 2011-12.
Accountant General Amar Patnaik and Principal Accountant General SS Dadhe briefed the media about this here on Monday.
“Though revenue receipts showed progressive increase from Rs 24,610 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 43,937 crore in 2012-13, registering a growth of 79 per cent yet the annual growth rate has come down sharply to 9.11 per cent during 2012-13 from 21 per cent in 2011-12,” the CAG report said on the State’s finances.
The Government may mobilise additional resources through tax and nontax revenue by expanding the tax base, said the CAG report, which was tabled in the State Assembly on Monday. The revenue expenditure, which constituted 87 per cent of the total expenditure during 2012-13, increased by 10 per cent over the previous year, it said. The report said non-plan revenue expenditure as a proportion of revenue expenditure, increased from Rs 15,882 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 26,645 crore in 2012-13 with a 70-per cent jump and exceeded the thirteenth finance commission’s normative assessment by Rs 3,893 crore.
On financial management and budgetary control, the CAG said that during 2012-13, there was overall saving of Rs 9,335.72 crore, but the savings were mainly due to reasons like non-implementation of schemes and less requirement of funds.
Finding instances of savings exceeding Rs 10 crore in 19 cases relating to 16 grants and one appropriation during 2008-13, the CAG report said there were instances of persistent savings, excess expenditure and expenditure without provision of funds, unnecessary/excessive supplementary provisions, substantial surrenders and rush of expenditure during the last month of the financial year.
Budgetary controls should be strictly observed to avoid such deficiencies in financial management, it said, adding that last-minute fund releases and issue of re-appropriation should be avoided. On financial reporting, the report said the State Government’s compliance with various rules, procedures and directives relating to utilisation of funds was unsatisfactory as evident from delays in furnishing Utilisation Certificates (UCs) against grants from various guarantee institutions and issue of inaccurate UCs.
“A large amount of unspent balance (Rs 795 crore) was lying in 889 Personal Deposit (PD) accounts and were not credited back to Government account, it said.