CAG Flags ₹92,132 Crore in Unverified Utilisation Certificates in Bihar
On the penultimate day of the monsoon session of the Bihar legislature, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India's report on the state for 2024-25 was tabled in the assembly on Thursday. Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav presented the report, which revealed that 62,632 utilisation certificates (UCs) worth ₹92,132.75 crore were pending with the Principal Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlements), Bihar, as of March 31, 2025.
The top five departments with the highest outstanding UCs are Health, Rural Development, Urban Development, Education, and Panchayati Raj. The CAG warned that non-submission of UCs carries the risk of misutilisation of funds and urged the state government to monitor the matter closely and hold responsible officials accountable. The report noted that although the issue was raised with the Finance Department, no reply was received as of January 2026.
Under the section on budgetary management, the report highlighted that during the financial year 2024-25, only ₹2,87,178.49 crore (78.78% of the total budget of ₹3,64,518.87 crore) was spent, resulting in savings of ₹77,340.38 crore. Of this, only ₹10,388.35 crore (13.43%) was surrendered, indicating unrealistic projections and poor alignment between budget and expenditure. The budget estimates were increased by 28.81% through supplementary grants, but actual expenditure was only 1.48% above the original budget.
The report also pointed out that 39.85% of total expenditure occurred in the last four months of the financial year, reflecting a rush of spending at the end and violation of prescribed spending limits. Additionally, the state government transferred ₹441.29 crore less than the required central share for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) during 2024-25. Delays of up to 167 days for central share and 246 days for state share were observed in transferring funds from the state treasury to the concerned Single Nodal Agency (SNA), creating an extra fiscal burden.
In the section on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Bihar, the CAG flagged the absence of a baseline survey during 2019-24, leaving the department without a mechanism to assess the quantum and timing of work demand at the Gram Panchayat level. Against 13,798 sanctioned posts for MGNREGA implementation, 6,086 (44%) were vacant, with vacancies ranging from 16% for District Programme Officers to 80% for computer operators. As of March 2024, ₹36.22 crore in advances remained unadjusted for more than five years.
The report further noted that the state government had not framed rules regarding the frequency, place, and procedure of meetings of the State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC). In the absence of such rules, the SEGC held only three meetings during 2021-23, indicating insufficient monitoring of the scheme at the state level.
