The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for laxity on their party for huge difference between the budget estimates and actual receipts and huge unspent budget provisions.
The CAG report was tabled in the UP Assembly on the last day of the monsoon session yesterday.
According to the CAG report, an income of about Rs 5.90 lakh crore was estimated in the budget for the year 2022-23. In comparison, only about Rs 4.85 lakh crore was received. Thus, the actual income was Rs 1.05 lakh crore less than the estimated income. CAG has suggested the UP government to review it.
The estimated income in own tax revenue in the financial year 2022-23 was around Rs 2.20 lakh crore, but the actual income was only Rs 1.74 lakh crore. A decrease of 21 percent was recorded in this.
The share of central taxes has increased. It was estimated that Rs 1.46 lakh crore would be received under this head, but Rs 1.69 lakh crore was received. Non-tax revenue was received at Rs 13489 crore against the estimate of Rs 23406 crore. There was a decrease of 42 percent in this item.
Similarly instead of Rs 1.08 lakh crore, only Rs 59919 crore was received as grant-in-aid from the Government of India. This also decreased by more than 44 percent. Recovery of loans and advances was Rs 1337 crore instead of Rs 2565 crore. There was a decline of more than 47 percent. Rs 66846 crores were received in public loan instead of Rs 89174 crores.
This also decreased by 25 percent. In this way the total income decreased by more than one lakh crore compared to the estimate, CAG report disclosed.
Meanwhile , the CAG report also indicated that nearly a quarter of Uttar Pradesh’s huge budget remained unspent in the treasury. This situation kept increasing and decreasing in different years from the year 2018-19 to the year 2022-23.
According to the CAG report related to the Finance Department, the unspent amount has increased in five budgets. From 2018-19 to 2022-23, the budget reached Rs 4.99 lakh crore to Rs 6.85 lakh crore, but the departments could not spend a large amount in the same proportion.
The report says, a budget of Rs 6.85 lakh crore was presented in 2022-23, but only Rs 5.19 lakh crore was spent. That means around Rs 1.65 lakh crore could not be spent. According to CAG, this difference reflects the huge gap in planning and implementation by the state government.
In 2018-19 ,the unspent money was Rs 89351 crores, 2019-20 it rose to Rs 127382 crore , 2020-21 it was Rs 148547 crores , in 2021-22 it was Rs 152626 crores and in 2022-23 the unspent budgetary allocation rose to Rs 165696 crores.