NEW DELHI : In a sharp assessment of Assam’s financial management, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticised the state government for presenting what it called “unrealistic and overestimated” budget assumptions for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The audit, tabled in the Assam Assembly, reveals substantial gaps between projected revenue and actual receipts, along with systemic weaknesses in fund utilisation and fiscal planning.

According to the CAG, the Assam government incurred a total expenditure of ?1,39,449.66 crore during 2023-24, against total grants and appropriations amounting to ?1,69,966.13 crore. This difference translated into overall savings of ?30,516.47 crore, or 17.95% of total allocations.

However, the audit makes it clear that these savings were largely “notional”. The government simply did not mobilise the revenue it had projected in its budget.

Actual receipts stood at ?1,38,830.79 crore, significantly lower than the estimated ?1,65,215.70 crore-a shortfall of ?26,384.91 crore. Because these unachieved receipts created a resource gap, the savings shown in government accounts did not translate into real money that departments could spend.

“The savings were notional, as the funds were not actually available for expenditure,” the CAG noted, effectively underscoring that large portions of the state’s budgeted funds existed only on paper.