The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on local bodies of governance or panchayati raj institutions for the 2014-15 financial year has revealed that Bihar was deprived of development grants of Rs 1,344 crore due to reduction of funds for Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) by the Union ministry for panchayati raj and late submission of demand by the state government.
"Against the entitlement of development grants of Rs 3,538 crore for the period 2010-15, the state received grants of Rs 2,194 crore only because of late submission of demand and reduction of funds for BRGF programme in revised estimate stage by the ministry. As a result, the state was deprived of development grants of Rs 1,344 crore," the CAG report said.
The report, which was tabled in the Assembly on Monday, partly corroborated the allegations by the state government that the Centre had cut away BRGF.
BRGF programme was conceived in 2006-07 by the central government to redress regional imbalances. It covers all 38 districts of Bihar.
Similarly, with panchayati raj institutions still in the nascent stage, Bihar received just Rs 31 crore of total Rs 186 crore "capacity building grant" for 2010-15. Even the money, which the state got, was released way back in 2010-11.
The report says: "It was due to non-receipt of utilisation certificates from panchayati raj institutions, non-submission of physical and financial progress reports authenticated by chartered accountants for works executed by the state panchayati raj department by utilising the grants and non-submission of audit report with action taken reports during 2011-15. This deprived the state of Rs 155 crore."
The CAG report also reveals that in 10 test-checked zila parishads, there was a delay of five days (Madhepura district) to 157 days (Aurangabad district) in transferring funds of Rs 371 crore to zila parishads by the state government.
Works, including construction of roads, drains, community halls were not undertaken in three zila parishads, nine panchayat samitis and 47 gram panchayats in spite of availability of grants to the tune of Rs 8.3 crore and approval under annual action plan of panchayati raj institutions.
Reference is present to scam in procurement of 339 solar streetlights in Begusarai panchayat samiti. They were purchased from open market at a rate higher than that specified by government purchase rates. This resulted in excess and avoidable expenditure of Rs 47.4 lakh.
Bihar has 141 urban local bodies, including municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The CAG report reveals that among the test-checked ULBs, their income from own sources was only 36 per cent to 76 per cent of the establishment expenditure during 2010-15.
Their budget estimates were not realistic and time schedule for adoption and submission of budget estimates were not followed.
The report says that ULBs were not imposing and collecting all types of taxes and user charges. Hence, non-imposition of user charges for water supply and door-to-door collection of solid waste deprived municipal corporations of Rs 5.46 crore and Rs 9.15 crore, respectively.
Similarly, Rs 17.88 crore remained unrealised under property tax, mobile tower tax and shop rent as on March 31, 2015 by the municipal corporations. Similar situations prevailed in municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
