Audit Reports
Uttarakhand
Report No.2 of 2017 - State Finances Government of Uttarakhand
Overview
This Report on the finances of the Government of Uttarakhand is being brought out to assess the financial performance of the State during the year 2016-17 vis-à-vis the Budget and recommendations of Fourteenth Finance Commission and analyses the dominant trends and structural profile of Government’s receipts and disbursements. Based on the audited accounts of the Government of Uttarakhand for the year ending 31 March 2017 and additional data collected from several sources such as the Economic Survey brought out by the State Government and Census, this report provides an analytical review of the Annual Accounts of the State Government in three Chapters.
Chapter-1 is based on the audit of Finance Accounts and makes an assessment of Uttarakhand Government’s fiscal position as on 31 March 2017. It provides an insight into trends and profile of key fiscal aggregates, committed expenditure, borrowing pattern, etc. During the current year the fiscal deficit was 2.80 per cent of GSDP against recommendations of 3.25 per cent of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC). During the current fiscal, the Government capitalized 17.48 per cent more funds as compared to the previous year 2015-16. The average return on Uttarakhand Government’s investment in Statutory Corporations, Rural Banks, Joint Stock Companies and Co-operatives was almost negligible (ranging from 0.004 to 0.49 per cent of the investment made) in the past five years while the Government paid an average interest of 8.18 per cent on the borrowed funds for this investment. The debt-GSDP ratio was higher than the target of 22.64 per cent as recommended by FFC.
Chapter-2 is based on Appropriation Accounts and it gives grant-wise description of appropriations and the manner in which the allocated resources were managed by the service delivery departments. During 2016-17, there was an excess of ` 54,57.33 crore in three grants and one appropriation which requires regularization under Article 205 of the Constitution of India. An amount of ` 5,37.84 crore drawn by the State Government during the month of March 2017 was deposited in the deposit heads to avoid lapse of budget grants. A significant amount of ` 2,90.84 crore under Contingency Fund remained un-recouped. Excess expenditure amounting to ` 1,53,23.44 crore pertaining to the years 2005-06 to 2015-16 was also yet to be regularized by the State Legislature.
Chapter-3 details Government’s compliance with various reporting requirements and financial rules and non-submission of accounts. The departmental officers did not submit 224 Utilization Certificates, in respect of the grants of ` 327.35 crore given for specific purposes, to the Accountant General (A&E), Uttarakhand till March 2016. Significant amounts of expenditure and receipts under Central and State Schemes, booked under the Minor Heads ‘800-Other Expenditure’ and ‘800-Other Receipts’ were not distinctly depicted in the State Finance Accounts of 2016-17, affecting the transparency in financial reporting.