SHILLONG:
This Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in the Finance Accounts of the Government of Meghalaya for the year ending March 31, 2021 has said that outstanding utilisation certificates (UCs) for the year is 215 which amounts to Rs 1,765.85 crore.
The CAG identified Secretariat Economic Service Department (Rs 609.91 crore, 34.54 per cent), Other Rural Development Programmes Department (Rs 502.21 crore, 28.44 per cent), Special Programme for Rural Development Department (Rs 232.17 crore, 13.15 per cent), Rural Employment Department (Rs 190.94 crore, 10.81 per cent), Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes Department (Rs 115.30 crore, 6.53 per cent) as the major defaulting departments that had not submitted UCs.
Rs 4,230.12 crore pertaining to outstanding UCs for the period up to 2020-21 was cleared during 2020-21, it said.
The CAG also said that no rules have been framed either in Meghalaya Treasury Rule or Meghalaya Financial Rule specifying the period within which utilisation certificates are required to be submitted from the date of receipt of grants.
Utilisation certificates are insisted from the authorities based on provisions contained in CAG MSO (A&D) Volume-I and conditions laid in the sanction orders of the grants.
Due to non-submission of UCs, there is no assurance that the amount shown in finance accounts had reached the beneficiaries and thus the expenditure cannot be vouched as correct or final, it stated.
During the year 2020-21, government of Meghalaya issued loans to one PSU, the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL).
Out of  six PSUs/statutory bodies etc, to whom loans were issued by government of Meghalaya up to the year 2020-21, accounts of three for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 were not finalised till August 2021.
Section 4 (1) (d) of Meghalaya FRBM Act, 2006 restrict issuing of guarantee except on selective basis where the quality and viability of the scheme to be guaranteed is properly analysed and is beneficial to the state.
During the year, the state government issued guarantees of Rs 1,975.92 crore. The outstanding guarantees as on March 31, 2021 was
Rs 3, 047.52 crore, the CAG said adding that a Guarantee Act has not been enacted by the state.
As per guidelines issued by the Government of Meghalaya Finance (Budget) Department letter dated April 24, 1989, the state government is required to levy a Guarantee Fee of one per cent of the guaranteed amount before the execution of the guarantee deed.
For the subsequent years, the guarantee fee is fixed at 0.5 per cent on the amount guaranteed and outstanding on March 31 each year for the next financial year till the guarantee is vacated or till the loan is liquidated.
During 2020-21, the state government did not receive any amount towards guarantee commission, the CAG said.
However, Guarantee Commission fee of Rs 25.29 crore (Rs 19.76 crore on the guaranteed amount during the year 2020-21 and Rs 5.53 crore on outsanding guarantees as on March 31, 2020) was receivable during the year.
Further, Rs 38.79 crore receivable Guarantee Commission fee pertaining to 2019-20 was also not received, it said.