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Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Opposition alleges Rs 70,000 crore scam as CAG flags accounting lapses in poll-bound Bihar
Just months ahead of the upcoming Assembly election in Bihar, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged massive accounting lapses in the state's finances. The CAG has reported that as of March 31, 2024, as many as 49,649 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) — documents that confirm that allocated resources were utilised for the intended purpose — amounting to Rs 70,877.61 crore, had not been submitted to the Accountant General (Accounts and Entitlements) of Bihar. The findings have come as fresh ammunition for the Opposition. Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said in a social media post, 'Thanks to Modi-Nitish, a scam of Rs 70,000 crore has taken place in Bihar. The CAG has unearthed the theft. No work was seen, but the entire expenditure was made… Modi-Nitish made history by committing a Rs 70,000 crore scam. Just like the Srijan scam, now efforts to manage this from Delhi to Patna have intensified.' According to the CAG's State Finances Audit Report for 2023-24, the non-submission of UCs violates Rule 271(e) of the Bihar Treasury Code that requires departments to submit the documents within 18 months of the financial year in which the grant is released. The report notes that the Bihar government 'did not comply' with the national accounting standards of IGAS-1, IGAS-2, and IGAS-3. The auditing body suspects that nearly Rs 70,878 crore of budgeted money has no audit clearance, and raised serious risk of fraud. 'In the absence of UCs, there is no assurance that funds disbursed have been used for the intended purpose,' the report said, adding that this level of pendency is 'fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation, and diversion of funds'. The report's year-wise data shows that Rs 14,452.38 crore worth of these pending UCs relate to grants issued up to 2016-17. In 2017-18, the pending UCs amounted to Rs 3,746.64 crore; to Rs 5,870.67 crore in 2018-19; Rs 17,980.24 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21; Rs 16,014.34 crore in 2021-22; and Rs 12,813.34 in 2022–23. The pending UCs are heavily concentrated in a few departments, the CAG report revealed, indicating that five departments account for the majority of the unverified expenditure. The largest default is in the Panchayati Raj Department, with UCs worth Rs 28,154.10 crore pending, the report said. This is followed by the Education Department (Rs 12,623.67 crore), Urban Development and Housing Department (Rs 11,065.50 crore), Rural Development Department (Rs 7,800.48 crore), and Agriculture Department (Rs 2,107.63 crore). In addition to department-level grants, the CAG also found that large sums of grants to local bodies remained unverified. As per the CAG, as of March 31, 2024, utilisation certificates were pending for Rs 4,277.22 crore given to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Rs 2,221.83 crore given to Rural Local Bodies under various central and state schemes, including 15th Finance Commission grants. The report also highlighted significant pendency in the submission of Detailed Contingent (DC) bills against Abstract Contingent (AC) bills. AC bills are required to draw advances by departments, and rules mandate that a department submitting an AC bill to withdraw cash must finalise the accounts by submitting a DC bill within six months. However, as on March 31, 2024, the report showed massive non-compliance, as Rs 9,205.76 crore was drawn in advance payments through 22,130 AC bills, but its expense details through DC bills were not submitted. Of this, Rs 5,577.91 crore (60.60%) pertained to advances drawn for the 'creation of Capital Assets', including major schemes under road works, education, health, rural development, etc. The CAG further noted that 1,648 AC bills, totalling Rs 1,041.12 crore, were drawn in March 2024 alone, indicating a 'rush' to exhaust budgets at the end of the financial year. The audit said that this pattern of drawing money late in the year and not reconciling it 'indicates poor public expenditure management'. 'The non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline and enhances the risk of misappropriation of public money,' the report warned. The CAG also pointed to issues highlighting systemic lapses in financial reporting with classification of expenditure, particularly under grants-in-aid. It observed that 59.95% of the total budgeted grants-in-aid of Rs 77,600.47 crore disbursed during 2023-24 were lumped under the category, 'Others', without clearly identifying the institutions or schemes to which the funds were released. The CAG noted that without proper institutional codes, 'the amounts outstanding against all institutions could not be worked out.' This, it said, is a gap that 'affected the transparency of accounts'. The CAG also flagged significant parking of funds under the Deposit of Local Funds. According to the CAG report, funds budgeted as grants to local bodies and municipal bodies were transferred there, but never spent. Over 2019-24, the balance in these accounts swelled to Rs 30,017.64 crore. 'This amount has been shown as Revenue or Capital Expenditure in the respective years but is lying unspent in the deposit head,' the report says. It observes that this practice overstates actual expenditure, and further mentions that the 'reason for transfer of funds for parking in Deposit of Local Fund Head of Account were awaited'. The CAG also noted that internal audit mechanisms in departments were either weak or non-functional, and several previous audit recommendations had not been acted upon. It observed that delays in submission of audit replies and lack of timely action 'defeated the very purpose of the audit'. The CAG said that the combination of the issues of missing UCs, unreconciled advances, off-book deposits and generic accounting entries 'indicate lack of internal controls in the administrative departments'.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Migrant exodus sparks political storm in Gurugram
A police verification drive targeting undocumented immigrants in Gurugram has led to the departure of hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrant families and triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders accusing the Haryana government of communal bias. A migrant worker settlement in South City 2, in Gurugram Sector 47 near Park Hospital, on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo) The drive, aimed at identifying undocumented immigrants, has reportedly led to 300–400 families leaving shanty settlements, particularly around South City 2, amid fears of detention and harassment. 'Even those with Aadhaar and voter cards are being detained. Police arrive without warning and take people away. Some were even beaten,' a migrant resident claimed, requesting not to be named. 'We didn't come here to break the law—we came to work hard and feed our families,' said Imran Ali, a 32-year-old construction worker from Murshidabad, who left Gurugram last week and is now staying with a cousin in Delhi's Seelampur. 'Police came to our settlement late at night. Even though I showed my Aadhaar card, they said it needed to be verified in Bengal. My wife got scared, packed our things, and we left that same night. I lost my job, and we are now surviving on whatever little savings I had. I don't know when we will go back—or if we even can.' Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed, a senior Meo community leader, alleged the drive is 'unfairly singling out Muslim residents' and 'damaging Gurugram's secular fabric and global image.' He said even individuals with valid documents have been detained and forced to leave. 'This campaign… has turned into a tool for communal victimisation,' Ahmed said, adding he has raised the issue with the state DGP and Gurugram Commissioner of Police, who assured him 'no legitimate Indian citizen will be harassed.' Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini defended the campaign, declaring, 'There is no place for Bangladeshi infiltrators in Haryana; they are being removed as swiftly as possible.' He added, 'No compromise against India's unity, sovereignty, and Constitution is acceptable... the nation's interest will always be paramount.' In response, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee slammed the drive, calling it 'linguistic terror' and alleging that Bengali-speaking workers are being deported without proper checks. 'I have been increasingly receiving reports of detentions and atrocities… West Bengal Police is receiving requests from Haryana Police for identity verification,' she said, citing Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports accusing BJP-ruled states of systematic deportations. HRW reports that this has been happening systematically in the BJP-ruled States of Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi, following a directive by the Ministry of Home, Government of India. Shame!! Now, even international human rights organisations have started taking note of the linguistic terrorism unleashed in India. This must stop at once!!' the CM has been attacking the BJP-led Centre, saying that the detention of hundreds of Bengali speaking migrant workers across BJP-governed states was 'a language war and linguistic terrorism' waged on Bengal and its people. TMC MP Samirul Islam backed Banerjee, accusing BJP-led states of 'hiding data on Bengali-speaking migrants' and turning 'national security into a tool of discrimination.' 'No illegal immigrant will be allowed to stay in Haryana. The verification drive is being conducted strictly within the legal framework to ensure the safety and security of all citizens,' said Arvind Saini, media in-charge of BJP Haryana. 'The Congress is raising baseless concerns because their traditional vote bank is being affected. This is not about religion or language—it's about national interest and lawful residency.' Senior Congress leader Pankaj Dawar said many of these families have been in Gurugram for over two decades as domestic workers and labourers. 'They consider Gurugram their home. But now, their lives have been thrown into chaos,' he said. Haryana Police, however, denied any communal angle. 'The process is based on intelligence inputs and legal procedure,' said Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar. 'We are ensuring that no Indian citizen is harassed.' As the controversy deepens, the verification campaign has become a flashpoint in the larger political discourse around migration, minority rights, and state power, according to opposing political leaders. 'The situation is not just a local law enforcement issue anymore,' Ahmed said. 'It's a test of how inclusive and just we remain as a society.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Setback to lenders: NCLT replaces RP in Anil Ambani's loan guarantee case
NEW DELHI: In a setback to lenders, the National Company Law Tribunal has removed Jitender Kothari as the resolution professional (RP) in an insolvency case related to Anil Ambani 's personal guarantee to SBI for a loan to Reliance Communications . NCLT appointed Prashant Jain as the new RP. In Sept 2016, Ambani had given a personal guarantee for a Rs 1,385-crore loan, which was retrospectively classified as an NPA effective late Aug 2016. Kothari was appointed RP in Aug 2020. A few days after his appointment, the RP sought multiple details from Ambani, including details of a case in a British court. The insolvency action had been challenged in Delhi HC and the SC. In May 2021, the RP filed his report in NCLT, recommending admission of company petition for insolvency resolution despite Ambani's lawyer seeking more time, citing restricted mobility due to Covid. A few days later, Ambani's lawyer wrote that the RP can only seek information from SBI. Meanwhile, the businessman's writ petition in SC was tagged along with one Surendra Jiwarajka, which was finally decided in Nov 2023. Ambani has accused the RP of "acting in undue haste and denying him fair and proper opportunity" to provide information. Besides, the RP is accused of exceeding the mandate under IBC in seeking "unrelated information". The RP denied the charges and SBI supported it, while arguing that the matter had been pending with NCLT for a long time and the case was being delayed. In its order on July 15, the benchsaid that in light of Covid-related disruptions, Ambani should have been given "a fair opportunity" to provide information to the resolution professional. "Instead, we note that the RP didn't even wait for adjudication of his application pending before this Tribunal seeking relaxation of 10 days' timeline and a cross application of the applicant before this Tribunal requiring more time in view of Covid restrictions. " "Though, we do not find any negligence or explicit bias on part of the RP in this case, however, we are of considered view since the insolvency resolution process after commencement has to be run in close coordination of debtor and RP," it said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
