CAG Flags Massive Budget Misuse; Congress Accuses Assam CM of ‘Fiscal Anarchy’

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led state government, accusing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of presiding over “alarming fiscal mismanagement and unprecedented financial irregularities,” based on findings presented in the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, senior Congress leader and former MP Ripun Bora, who heads the Human Resource Management Committee of the APCC, detailed what he described as a systematic breakdown of financial discipline in Assam.

According to the CAG report for the financial year 2023–24, Assam’s Budget Estimate was ₹1,69,966.13 crore, while the actual expenditure stood at ₹1,39,449.66 crore. This created an apparent saving of ₹30,516.47 crore, amounting to 18 percent of the budget. However, the CAG noted that this saving does not reflect real fiscal prudence, as the state’s actual revenue collection for the year was ₹1,38,830.79 crore, indicating that the estimated expenditure did not align with realistic revenue projections. The Congress claimed this proved that the supposed savings shown by the government were misleading and not genuinely available in the budget.

Ripun Bora further highlighted a serious lapse in financial accountability involving utilisation certificates (UCs). As many as 50 government departments failed to submit UCs amounting to ₹18,669.55 crore for the fiscal year 2022–23. Under government norms, utilisation certificates for capital expenditure must be submitted within 12 months at the end of the financial year, but despite capital expenditure of ₹52,871 crore in 2022–23, certificates worth a massive ₹18,669.55 crore remain unsubmitted. Departments with high pending UCs included Finance (₹2,986 crore), Education (₹1,902 crore), Tribal Affairs (₹1,721 crore), Social Welfare (₹1,622 crore), Home and Political (₹1,358 crore), Panchayat and Rural Development (₹1,179 crore), Transformation and Development (₹725 crore), Minority Development (₹700 crore), Municipal Administration (₹665 crore), and Industries and Commerce (₹649 crore). The Congress alleged that such large unaccounted expenditure raises suspicion of misappropriation and diversion of public funds, and reflects a complete lack of oversight by the Chief Minister.

The party also expressed serious concern over the rapid escalation of Assam’s debt burden. The CAG has warned that Assam’s total debt is projected to reach nearly ₹1,74,000 crore by March 31, 2026. According to repayment schedules, ₹45,458 crore, or 18.56 percent of the debt, will have to be repaid within the next one year, while ₹29,763 crore (18.60 percent) must be repaid between three to five years. Another ₹34,061 crore (21.39 percent) will fall due between five to seven years, and ₹48,849 crore (30.68 percent) between seven to ten years. Altogether, 99.32 percent of the state’s total debt must be repaid within the next decade, a burden the Congress warned would severely affect future generations while leaving little room for development spending. The CAG report also notes that Assam’s total debt rose from ₹72,256 crore in 2019–20 to ₹1,46,927 crore in 2023–24, an increase of 103.34 percent, while the debt-to-GSDP ratio increased from 20.83 percent to 25 percent over the same period. Interest payments alone surged from ₹2,963 crore in 2016–17 to ₹9,467 crore in 2023–24.

The Congress further criticised the government’s use of Supplementary Budgets. In 2023–24, the Assam Assembly approved Supplementary Grants worth ₹30,210.86 crore, but the CAG found that only 74.19 percent of this amount was genuinely required, describing the allocation as financially imprudent and unjustified. Additionally, the CAG revealed grave irregularities in financial reporting by state bodies, noting that as of March 31, 2024, 75 Autonomous Councils and Development Bodies had failed to submit 485 audit reports, while 39 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) had not submitted 245 overdue audit accounts. The Congress claimed this reflected a breakdown of financial monitoring and transparency under the present government, demonstrating that public money was not being safeguarded.

According to the CAG, nearly 65 percent of the loans taken by the Assam government between 2021 and 2024 were used not for development but for administrative expenses, committed liabilities, and non-productive activities. Only 25 percent was spent on development-related projects, with the remaining amount used primarily for consumption-based expenditure. The CAG observed that this violated a fundamental financial principle—“Borrow for investment, not for consumption”—and suggested that the borrowing was driven by political considerations rather than public welfare.

Another alarming revelation by the CAG was that in 2023–24, the state government diverted ₹2,172.27 crore from the budget head meant for debt repayment and used it for spending under various sectors, even as allocation to crucial areas such as education and health was reduced. Education spending decreased by 17.70 percent compared to the previous year, while health expenditure was cut by 5.21 percent. The Congress alleged that reducing essential public welfare spending while diverting funds meant for debt repayment amounted to deliberate financial misconduct by the government.

Concluding the briefing, Ripun Bora said the CAG’s findings exposed “a frightening picture of fiscal anarchy in Assam,” alleging that the state’s financial stability had been jeopardised under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He demanded that the government release a white paper on the state’s finances, order a forensic audit into missing utilisation certificates, and allow a legislative inquiry into misuse of supplementary grants and mismanagement of debt. The Congress asserted that the government’s actions would have long-term detrimental impacts on the people of Assam and accused the Chief Minister of prioritising political objectives over the state’s economic health.

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