The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal is expected to bring before the state Assembly a series of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports that were not tabled during the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) administration, a move that could intensify scrutiny of the financial practices followed during the party’s 15 years in power, The Indian Express reported.

The last CAG report presented in the Assembly under the TMC government covered the 2020-21 financial year. Reports relating to 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 remained pending despite directions issued by then Governor C.V. Ananda Bose.

“The CAG reports always flagged corrupt practices of the TMC government. Naturally, the state government was not happy with the CAG reports and did not want them to be published,” said a senior state Finance Department official, adding that unless the CAG reports are tabled in the Assembly, they are not available in the public domain.

While the Budget for the current financial year is scheduled to be presented on Monday, there is no official clarity yet on the timing of the release of the pending reports. The ongoing Assembly session is due to continue until June 25 before resuming on July 6 after a short break.

Earlier CAG reports had repeatedly pointed to large-scale delays in the submission of utilisation certificates (UCs) for central grants. Between 2011 and 2020, the auditor highlighted that utilisation certificates amounting to Rs 2.29 lakh crore had not been received from the West Bengal government.

Utilisation certificates are meant to confirm that funds provided under various schemes and grants have been used for the intended purposes. Under state rules, departments are required to obtain these certificates from beneficiaries within one year of disbursal.
“It is assumed that UCs are not submitted if the funds have not been utilised properly and have been misappropriated,” an official told the paper.

According to the 2020-21 CAG report, the Panchayat and Rural Development Department accounted for the highest pendency with 81,950 utilisation certificates involving Rs 81,839 crore. It was followed by the School Education Department, where 38,117 certificates worth Rs 36,850 crore remained pending, and the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, which had 34,837 pending certificates amounting to Rs 30,693 crore.

“In the absence of UCs, it could not be ascertained whether the recipients had utilised the grants for the purposes for which these were given. This assumes greater importance as pendency in non-submission of UCs is fraught with the risk of misappropriation,” the report stated, adding that despite successive audit reports flagging the issue of non-submission of UCs, the West Bengal government under the TMC remained unconcerned.

The auditor had also highlighted irregularities relating to the failure to submit detailed contingent (DC) bills after funds were withdrawn through abstract contingent (AC) bills for emergencies such as floods, droughts and other unforeseen situations. State rules require detailed bills to be submitted within 60 days of such withdrawals.

The 2020-21 report noted that as of March 2021, detailed contingent bills amounting to Rs 3,400 crore across 11,321 cases were still pending.

“Pending DC bills reflect accounting indiscipline by government functionaries and controlling authorities, leading to risk of fraud, temporary misappropriation and embezzlement of funds,” the CAG said in its report.

With four years of audit findings yet to enter the public domain, the tabling of the pending reports is expected to trigger fresh political confrontations and renewed debate over financial accountability during the previous regime.