Assam Congress Cites CAG Audit, Flags Rs 18,669 Crore Unaccounted and Rising Debt

Overview

• At a Guwahati briefing on December 9, Congress leader Ripun Bora cited the newly tabled 2023–24 CAG audit to accuse the Himanta Biswa Sarma government of fiscal mismanagement.
• The audit records the state claiming Rs 30,516.47 crore in 'savings' on a Rs 1,69,966.13 crore budget, even as actual revenue totalled Rs 1,38,830.79 crore and spending reached Rs 1,39,449 crore.
• Nearly 50 departments have yet to file utilisation certificates for about Rs 18,669 crore, with large gaps cited in Finance, Education, Tribal Welfare and Social Welfare.
• Total liabilities are projected to reach about Rs 1.74 lakh crore by March 2026, with debt doubling since 2019–20 to Rs 1,46,927 crore and annual interest rising to Rs 9,467 crore in 2023–24.
• The CAG notes that 65% of loans during 2021–24 went to beneficiary schemes and only around 25% to development, flags Rs 2,172.27 crore spent outside the budget, and lists 75 councils plus 39 enterprises with pending accounts.