Audit Reports
Meghalaya
Report of 2010 - Compliance, Financial and Performance Audit on State Finances of Government of Meghalaya
Overview
This Report on the Finances of the Government of Meghalaya is being brought out with a view to assess objectively the financial performance of the State during the year 2009-10. The aim of this Report is to provide the State Government with timely inputs based on actual data so that there is a better insight into both well performing as well as ill performing schemes/programmes of the Government. To give a perspective to the analysis, an effort has been made to compare the achievements with the targets envisaged by the State Government in Meghalaya Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (MFRBM) Act, 2006 as well as in the Budget estimates of 2009-10. A comparison has been made to see whether the State has given adequate fiscal priority to developmental, social sector and capital expenditure compared to other North Eastern States, and whether the expenditure has been effectively absorbed by the intended beneficiaries.
The Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) civil audit reports step in to fill this gap. C&AG's reports have been commenting upon the Government's finances for two years since the MFRBM legislation and have published two reports already. Since these comments formed part of the civil audit report, it was felt that the audit findings on State finances remained camouflaged in the large body of audit findings on compliance and performance audits. The obvious fallout of this well-intentioned but all-inclusive reporting was that the financial management portion of these findings did not receive proper attention. In recognition of the need to bring State finances to center-stage once again, a stand-alone report on State Government finances is considered as an appropriate audit response to this challenge. Accordingly, from the report year 2008-09 onwards, C&AG has decided to bring out a separate volume titled "Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on State Finances". This Report is the second in this endeavour.
Based on the audited accounts of the Government of Meghalaya for the year ending March 2010, this report provides an analytical review of the Annual Accounts of the State Government. The report is structured in three Chapters. Chapter I is based on the audit of Finance Accounts and makes an assessment of Meghalaya Government's fiscal position as at 31 March 2010. It provides an insight into trends in committed expenditure, borrowing pattern besides a brief account of central funds transferred directly to the State implementing agencies through off-budget route. Chapter II is based on audit of Appropriation Accounts and it gives the grant-by-grant description of appropriations and the manner in which the allocated resources were managed by the service delivery departments. Chapter III in is an inventory of Meghalaya Government's compliance with various reporting requirements and financial rules. The report also has an appendage of additional data collected from several sources in support of the findings.