TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Comptroller and Auditor General report on State finances for the year ended March 2013 has pulled up the Manohar Parrikar-led government for failing to properly account for utilization of nearly Rs 282.49 crore central funds transferred to state agencies during 2012-13.
The CAG report tabled during the ongoing State Legislative Assembly session, recommended ‘better accounting and management systems for improved tracking of funds transferred directly to the State for central schemes’. The Government of India has been transferring sizeable quantum of funds directly to the State implementing agencies for implementing various schemes and programmes in social and economic sectors for human and social development of the population.
During 2012-13, the Government of India directly transferred Rs 282.49 crores to the State implementing agencies – mainly to State Health Society (Rs 12.52 cr), Goa Medical College (Rs 12.24 cr), North Goa District Rural Development Agency (Rs 7.21 cr), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Rs 6.71 cr), Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (Rs 6.12 cr) and North Goa Collector (Rs 5cr).
“As these funds are not routed through the state budget or treasury, the annual finance account does not document the flow of these funds and hence, the state receipts and expenditure and other fiscal variables derived from them are understated,” CAG stated.
“Unless uniform accounting practices are followed by all these implementing agencies and proper documentation is maintained with timely reporting of expenditure, it would be difficult to monitor the end use of these direct transfers,” the CAG report stated recommending government to put in place a mechanism to ensure a complete picture of the resources. The CAG, pointing to the marginal decline in the Gross State Domestic Products (GSDP), attributed to significant reduction in revenue from mining activities, has said that the market borrowings, deposits and advances as well as loans from Centre and financial institutions swelled the fiscal deficit by Rs 267 crore in the fiscal.
