Bihar govt denies Rs 70,000 crore scam allegation, calls it 'normal' accounting process

Patna, July 29 (IANS) Amid mounting pressure from the opposition over alleged financial irregularities flagged in the CAG report, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has issued a formal clarification, denying any scam in the non-submission of Utilisation Certificates (UCs) amounting to Rs 70,877 crore.

The government termed the issue a routine accounting process rather than financial misconduct.

During the recently concluded monsoon session of the Bihar Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for the financial year 2023-24.

The report raised concerns over delays in submitting utilisation certificates for funds sanctioned under various government schemes.

The CAG pointed out that in the absence of timely UCs, it remains unclear whether the allocated funds were spent for their intended purposes, leading the opposition to allege a Rs 70,877 crore scam.

In a press conference held on Tuesday, Principal Secretary of the Finance Department Anand Kishore categorically denied any financial irregularity.

He stated, “This is neither embezzlement nor a scam. The pending UCs are part of a normal accounting process followed by all states. It does not imply fund misappropriation.”

Kishore further said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Bihar Legislature would now review the report.

The departments concerned, including the Finance Department, will be given an opportunity to explain the pending certificates, following which the final report will be submitted to the government.

Providing data to back the government’s stand, Kishore revealed, “In FY 2022-23, UCs worth Rs 1,09,093 crore were successfully adjusted. Following the release of the CAG report, an additional Rs 51,750 crore worth of UCs have been cleared.”

He also noted that this year marks the lowest pendency of UCs in the last five years, indicating improvements in financial monitoring and compliance.

While the opposition has used the CAG findings to attack the credibility of the ruling JD(U)-BJP coalition, the government’s clarification may shift the focus to procedural reforms rather than corruption.

However, as the matter now heads to the PAC, political tensions over transparency and accountability in public spending are likely to continue.

--IANS

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