State released nil amount for mid-day meals: CAG

‘CAG report exposes govt claims’

The Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sunil Jakhar has said that the CAG report exposed the SAD-BJP alliance’s financial mismanagement and bungling of centrally-sponsored schemes. Jakhar said that the Vidhan Sabha Speaker may adopt all means,under dictates of the CM,to suppress the voice of the Opposition but he can’t save the government from heading towards financial emergency. Quoting the CAG report,he added that the state has violated financial rules and regulations by diverting Rs 3064.21 crore from the treasury during the last two days of financial year 2011-12. “The CAG report virtually censures the alliance govt in Punjab for diverting Rs 50.96 crore earmarked for post Matric scholarships to dalit communities students for other purposes,” he said. Jakhar had raised the issue of non-payment of scholarships to students during the last assembly. In case of two others —- Mid-Day Meal scheme and Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds,Pulses,Oil,Palm and Maize — Punjab released nil amount of funds. The most serious indictment has been towards diverting Rs 50 crore worth funds of SC scholarships by the government,under the head “Government of India schemes wherein funds were diverted.”

In its report on state finances,CAG has censured transfer of funds from Government of India to state implementing agencies outside the budget. “There is no single agency monitoring funds directly transferred by GOI to the state or readily available data to assess how much of it is actually spent,” report adds.

The CAG report,tabled a day ahead of the budget presentation on Wednesday,has also pointed out that the “budget preparation and re-appropriation were grossly unrealistic”.

Citing re-appropriation of funds as unnecessary,it states funds were transferred within the same grant from one head where saving was anticipated to another where excess funds were needed. “In 2011-12,30 re-appropriation orders for Rs 3,064 crore were issued in just two days – March 30 and 31. In case of 114 cases,the entire budget provision amounting to Rs 983 crore was reappropriated and no expenditure was incurred. In 60 cases,partial amount of Rs 212 crore was reappropriated and despite reduction in budget provisions,no expenditure was incurred. In 68 cases,Rs 294 crore was transferred and the expenditure remained below the original budget estimate,” it adds.

It states that government’s budgetary processes too have not been sound with errors in budgeting,excess expenditure and expenditure without provision. It says financial rules were flouted by various departments by drawing in excess of the budget.

Advising the government to prepare budgetary estimates with due care,the CAG report states that there were huge variations in estimates and actuals and some revenue receipts were not being credited to the consolidated fund. It also stated that there was inordinate delay in furnishing utilisation certificates,which show a pendency of up to five to seven years.

Till March 2012,as many as 202 utilisation certificates were pending totalling to an amount of Rs 506 crore.