Shillong, July 27: The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) has failed to submit utilisation certificates (UCs) for funds worth Rs 9.71 crore even after a lapse of over five years, the CAG report stated.
According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report for 2018-19, the JHADC during 2015-16 to 2017-18 received grants-in-aid from the state government for various schemes.
The grants for Article 275 (1) of the Constitution (Rs 1.81 crore), Special Assistance Grant (Rs 33.57 crore), and areas not included in Part IX and IXA of the Constitution (Rs 10.75 crore) were to be utilised within the financial year.
In its report, the CAG stated, “However, out of Rs 46.13 crore sanctioned by Government of India during 2015-16 to 2017-18, UCs amounting to Rs 9.71 crore had not been submitted even after lapse of more than five years (August 2022).”
In reply, the JHADC stated (December 2023) that the Council has submitted a UC for an additional Rs 2.8 crore out of Rs 33.57 crore received under the Special Assistant Grant. Hence, a total of Rs 33.52 crore has been certified, leaving a balance of Rs 5.21 lakh.
For funds amounting to Rs 1.81 crore received under Article 275 (1) and Rs 10.75 crore received under Areas excluded in Part IX and IXA of the Constitution, the schemes/works are completed and the UCs for the remaining amounts are under process of submission.
The CAG observed that the Council could not submit UCs even after five years have elapsed since the funds were sanctioned, indicating that there is a lack of effective monitoring and oversight of expenditure within the council.
Though the Council has taken action for submission of UCs pertaining to grants received under Article 275 (1) and Special Assistance Grant, it was silent on the outstanding UCs of Rs 5.70 crore (53%) against grants received under Areas excluded in Part IX and IXA. Thus the total outstanding UCs remains at Rs 6.91 crore.
Meanwhile, the CAG has recommended the Council to strengthen the mechanism for implementation of schemes/projects in a time bound manner to avoid undue delays in submissions of UCs and the risk of misutilisation of funds.
