A whopping sum of Rs. 13,007 crore remained unspent by the government in 2016-17, according to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the year ending March 2017.

“Release of money from the consolidated fund to implementing agencies should be based on requirement rather than to avoid lapse on budget funds,” said the report, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Friday.

A sum of Rs. 260.29 crore related to scholarships to minority students, deposited in the account of the Directorate of Minorities, was not utilised, the report said. As much as Rs. 106 crore released to the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, a society formed for the implementation of the Rastriya Swasthya Bhima Yojana scheme, was not utilised.

The devolution of urban local bodies is governed by the recommendations of the State Finance Commission. The devolution of grants to ULBs revealed non-utilisation of Rs. 673.14 crore — 7% of the total provision.

Recommendation

The CAG report noted that budgetary control should be strengthened in all departments to avoid cases of funds remaining non-utilised. The budgetary exercise should be more realistic as there were cases found of persistent non-utilisation of funds and provision of excess amounts.

The report said the share of capital expenditure to total expenditure during 2016-17 was 19% (Rs. 28,150 crore), as against 15% (Rs. 20,136 crore) in the previous year.

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