J&K failed to submit utilisation certificates for grants worth over Rs 10,000 crores: CAG
TNN Bureau. Updated: 8/10/2022 9:47:08 AM
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Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government has failed to submit utilisation certificates for grants worth more than Rs 10,000 crores to the Centre till March 2021, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said.
Non-submission of the UCs means the authorities have not explained how funds were spent over the years in the Union territory, the apex auditing body said.
The CAG on Monday released a fresh report on finances of Jammu and Kashmir for the year ending in March 2021. It recommended the government to hold into account those responsible for submission of UCs in a timely manner.
"As many as 3,215 number of Utilisation Certificates for grants paid up to 30 September 2019 amounting to Rs 10,076.58 crore were outstanding up to 31 March 2021," the CAG report said.
It said 1,461 UCs are awaiting submission for grants worth Rs 5,725.99 crore in 2018-19, followed by 345 UCs for Rs 1,248.21 crore in 2019-20 and 3,215 UCs for Rs 3,102 crores in 2020-21.
A department-wise breakup of outstanding UCs shows that 83.90 per cent of these pertain to four departments, of which 57.07 per cent pertain to the education department only, CAG report said.
In its conclusion and recommendations, the CAG said the non-submission of the UCs means that the authorities have not explained as to how funds were spent over the years.
"There is also no assurance that the intended objectives of providing these funds have been achieved. This assumes greater importance if such UCs are pending against grants-in-aid meant for capital expenditure," it said.
The report said that since non-submission of UCs is fraught with risks of misappropriation, it is imperative that the government should monitor this aspect closely.