Audit Reports
Uttarakhand
Report No. 1 of 2019 - 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 2017-18 vis-à-vis the Budget and recommendations of Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) and analyse 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 2018 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 2018. It provides an insight into trends and profile of key fiscal aggregates, committed expenditure, borrowing pattern, etc. During the current year, the fiscal deficit at 3.65 per cent of GSDP was above the normative target of 3.25 per cent of GSDP as fixed by the FFC. The average return on Uttarakhand Government’s investment in Statutory Corporations, Rural Banks, Joint Stock Companies and Co-operatives was negligible and ranged from 0.004 to 0.71 per cent in the last five years while the Government paid an average interest rate of 8.13 per cent on its borrowings. The Fiscal Liabilities to GSDP ratio was higher than the normative assessment of 22.60 per cent fixed by the FFC for the year.
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. There was excess expenditure of Rs 6,413.38 crore in six grants under Capital Voted and one appropriation under Capital Charged Section which requires regularisation under Article 205 of the Constitution of India. An amount of Rs 231.50 crore drawn from Contingency Fund remained un-recouped. Excess expenditure amounting to Rs 20,780.77 crore pertaining to the years 2005-06 to 2016-17 is yet to be regularised 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 102 Utilisation Certificates, in respect of grants of Rs 164.92 crore given for specific purposes, to the Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlement), Uttarakhand till March 2018. 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 2017-18 affecting the transparency in financial reporting.