NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pointed out that the Bihar government has not submitted utilisation certificates (UCs) for funds amounting to Rs 70,877.61 crore. The findings were part of the CAG’s report on State Finances for the year 2023–24, which was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday. “Despite the requirement of submitting UCs within the stipulated time period, 49,649 outstanding UCs of Rs 70,877.61 crore were not received by the Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlements), Bihar, as on March 31, 2024,” the report said, as quoted by the news agency PTI. The report noted that without these UCs, there is no confirmation that the money released was used for its intended purpose. “Moreover, high pendency of UCs is fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of funds,” it said. Of the total pending amount, Rs 14,452.38 crore relates to the period before 2016–17. According to the CAG, the five departments with the highest pending UCs are Panchayati Raj (Rs 28,154.10 crore), Education (Rs 12,623.67 crore), Urban Development (Rs 11,065.50 crore), Rural Development (Rs 7,800.48 crore), and Agriculture (Rs 2,107.63 crore). The report also pointed out delays in submitting Detailed Contingent (DC) Bills. These are required for money withdrawn in advance using Abstract Contingent (AC) Bills. As per the report, DC Bills worth Rs 9,205.76 crore were pending against 22,130 AC Bills. “Non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline and enhances the risk of misappropriation of public money,” the CAG said. For the financial year 2023–24, Bihar had a total budget of Rs 3.26 lakh crore. Of this, Rs 2.60 lakh crore was spent, which amounts to 79.92 per cent of the total budget. The CAG report also said, “The State surrendered only Rs 23,875.55 crore (36.44 per cent) of its total savings of Rs 65,512.05 crore. During the financial year 2023-24, the Liabilities of the State increased by 12.34 per cent over the previous year.”“Net liabilities under Internal Debt increased by 13.51 per cent (Rs 28,107.06 crore), over the previous year,” the report said.