Latest news with #CAG
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
CAG report hints at major financial scam: Cong
Patna: Congress leader Pawan Khera, citing CAG report, on Wednesday alleged a major financial scam in Bihar. Addressing a press conference here, Khera, chairman of media and publicity department, alleged nearly one-third of Bihar's total budget, around Rs 70,000 crore, "disappeared" which could have been used for various developmental projects in the state. He alleged dilapidated bridges and govt buildings in Bihar point towards this scam. "This is probably the first time that any ruling regime failed to submit utilisation certificates of Rs 70,000 crore," Khera said, adding, "The CAG found that the Bihar govt has no record of where these funds were spent." Furthermore, the NDA govt in Bihar did not even utilise Rs 3,59,667 crore from the allocated budget over the past five years, he said. "Nearly 40% of this unspent amount was for centrally sponsored schemes aimed at social welfare," he said.
NDTV
12 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Central Agency Conducts Raids Over Telangana Sheep Distribution 'Scam'
Hyderabad: A wolf in sheep's clothing - that is what the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government's flagship welfare initiative to provide sheep at 75 per cent subsidy has turned out to be. The scheme was meant to benefit poor shepherd families, create livelihood and improve rural economy. But the Comptroller and Auditor General has found misappropriation of funds through massive irregularities. The CAG had flagged the issue in 2021, after which Telangana's Anti-Corruption Bureau filed a case based on which the Enforcement Directorate filed its ECIR (ED's FIR). Today, the Enforcement Directorate launched extensive raids across eight locations in Hyderabad to probe what is now infamous as the alleged Rs 700-crore scam in sheep distribution when the BRS was in power. Searches were conducted as part of a wider money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act --examining the money trail of suspected beneficiaries, middlemen and others linked to the Sheep Rearing Development Scheme. The raids targeted premises of G Kalyan who served as OSD to the animal husbandry minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, and also Ramchandra Naik, who was director of Telangana Livestock Development Agency, middlemen and prime accused Mohiduddin and his son Ikramuddin. The Anti-Corruption Bureau has already arrested 17 people in connection with the case. The ED's probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by the state police, which initially flagged the proceeds of crime amount of around Rs 2.1 crore. The Comptroller and Auditor General, auditing the scheme for just seven of Telangana's 33 districts up to March 2021, has revealed a significantly larger financial loss to the government, estimated at over Rs 253 crore in those seven districts alone. On a proportionate basis, the ED suspects the total loss across the entire state could exceed Rs 1,000 crore. The CAG audit highlighted numerous irregularities, including missing details of beneficiaries, improper records of transportation invoices, payments made against fake, passenger, or non-transport vehicle registration numbers, issue of duplicate sheep tags, "allotment" of units of 20 sheep and a ram to deceased or non-existent individuals. NDTV had reported, as an example, how the records had claimed that a bike had transported 126 sheep, a car had carried 168 sheep and an ambulance took 84 sheep to their destination. The Sheep Rearing Development Scheme was launched in 2017 with the aim of supplying sheep on 75 per cent subsidy. It reportedly involved the distribution of over 1.28 crore sheep at a cost of approximately Rs 4,980.31 crore. Of these, around 82.74 lakh sheep were purportedly procured from other states and distributed to 3.92 lakh members of Primary Sheep Breeders Co-operative Societies. However, subsequent investigations, including by the ACB and now the ED, suggest that substantial amounts were allegedly misappropriated through inflated procurement bills, fictitious transportation records, and the use of benami accounts. In June 2024, the ED registered a money laundering case and has since been collecting documents from the animal husbandry department and the Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperative Federation, including beneficiary lists, vendor details, transport records, and payment files.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Congress alleges major financial scam in state
Patna: Congress leader Pawan Khera, citing CAG report, on Wednesday alleged a major financial scam in Bihar. Addressing a press conference here, Khera, chairman of media and publicity department, alleged nearly one-third of Bihar's total budget, around Rs 70,000 crore, "disappeared" which could have been used for various developmental projects in the state. He alleged dilapidated bridges and govt buildings in Bihar point towards this scam. "This is probably the first time that any ruling regime failed to submit utilisation certificates of Rs 70,000 crore," Khera said, adding, "The CAG found that the Bihar govt has no record of where these funds were spent." Furthermore, the NDA govt in Bihar did not even utilise Rs 3,59,667 crore from the allocated budget over the past five years, he said. "Nearly 40% of this unspent amount was for centrally sponsored schemes aimed at social welfare," he said.
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Business Standard
17 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
CAG pulls up steel maker SAIL for over-consumption of imported coal
Steel maker SAIL consumed imported coal more than the permitted levels between 2016 and 2023, resulting in additional expenditure to the extent of Rs 2,539.68 crore, a CAG report has said. CAG also flagged that Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) had not fixed any benchmark for inventory carrying cost per tonne of raw material, semi-finished material and finished goods. This happened despite the fact that on an average, SAIL had an inventory of Rs 21,698 crore during 2016-17 to 2022-23, constituting about 67 per cent of its current assets, the CAG report said. As per the report titled 'Inventory Management in SAIL', the company's "steel plants consumed imported coal more than the norms fixed by the management". "Higher consumption of imported coal which was costlier than the indigenous coal resulted in potential additional expenditure to the extent of Rs 2,539.68 crore during 2016-2023," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said. The report of the CAG of India on Performance Audit on 'Inventory Management in SAIL' (Audit Report No. 10 of 2025) was presented in Parliament on Tuesday. SAIL failed to maintain stock levels of raw materials like iron ore, coke, sinter due to which blast furnace was put under off-blast state resulting in inability to produce hot metal of 9.32 lakh tonnes and to earn potential revenue of Rs 1,231.52 crore at Rourkela, Bokaro, and Durgapur Steel Plants, as per the report. SAIL could not maintain the norms for non-moving inventory, it said, adding that total non-moving inventory of stores and spares at SAIL plants increased from Rs 137.40 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 212.57 crore in 2022-23, registering an increase of Rs 75.17 crore (55 per cent). Excess procurement of inventory without considering the requirement resulted in blocking-up of capital in non-moving items. SAIL plants took more days than the stipulated time of six months (186 days) between raising of indent by the department concerned and placement of purchase order in 9.71 per cent cases during 2016-2023. Five integrated steel plants of SAIL could produce 106.15 million tonnes (89 per cent) of the production target of 119.66 million tonne of saleable steel envisaged in the annual business plan for 2016-2023. The capacity utilisation by these steel plants was between 77 per cent (2020-21) and 89 per cent (2022-23). As against total production of 106.15 million tonne of saleable steel and orders booked by central marketing organisation for 121.86 million tonne, despatches from plants were only 93.75 million tonne, i.e. 77 per cent of orders booked, the report said. Lower despatch of materials than the requirement of customers led to delay in liquidation of stock and increase in inventory carrying cost on the stock lying at steel plants, it added.
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Govt collected ₹1 lakh crore in DMF funds since 2015: Mines minister tells Lok Sabha
The central government has collected ₹1,09,423 crore from across the country under the District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) since 2015, of which Rs.91,514 crore, or 83%, have been allocated to various projects sanctioned under DMFs, the ministry of mines informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Union minister G Kishan Reddy speaks in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. (Sansad TV) Minister of mines G Kishan Reddy said the DMF operates as a non-lapsable fund and unspent balances continue to be part of the cumulative fund available with each DMF Trust; he also provided details of DMF funds disbursed state-wise. Reddy was responding to questions raised by Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne on: 1. the total funds accrued in all DMFs across the country till date and the corresponding amount utilised, state-wise particularly in Maharashtra; 2. the percentage of unutilised funds and the primary reasons identified for this significant underutilisation; 3. whether the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) guidelines mandate specific percentages for high-priority sectors (e.g. drinking water, healthcare, education), among others. Under PMKKKY, a welfare scheme aimed at improving the lives of people and areas affected by mining activities, at least 70% of DMF funds must be utilised in high-priority sectors such as drinking water, healthcare, education, etc. and up to 30% of DMF funds should be utilised under other-priority sectors, i.e., physical infrastructure, irrigation and energy and watershed development. Till date, eight states have incorporated the PMKKKY guidelines, 2024, in their state DMF rules. Odisha has collected ₹31,323.53 crore as DMF so far followed by ₹15,402.43 crore by Chhattisgarh and ₹13,791.40 crore by Jharkhand, according to the response. 'The guidelines also provide that the account of the DMF shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as per schedule decided by CAG. Further, as per the Guidelines, a State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) shall be constituted at the State level under the chairpersonship of the Chief Secretary to monitor the performance of DMFs and compliance of transparency norms, audit and annual report of DMFs,' Reddy said. Through the amendment in Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act, in 2015, the Centre has made provisions for the establishment of DMF in all the districts affected by mining. Accordingly, Section 9(B) of the MMDR Act provides for the establishment of DMF as a non-profit body, object of DMF, with the power of the state government to prescribe its composition and functions. The object of the DMF is to benefit areas affected by mining related operations in such a manner as may be prescribed by the state government. This also includes mitigating the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining districts. So far, DMFs have been set up in 645 districts in 23 states in the country that have framed DMF rules. DMFs are funded from a share of royalty paid by mining companies and varies based on the type of mineral they extract and when they were granted their mining lease.
