Just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged accounting irregularities involving Rs 70,877.61 crore in the state’s finances, giving fresh ammunition to the Opposition.
According to the CAG report, as of March 31, 2024, as many as 49,649 Utilisation Certificates (UCs), documents worth Rs 70,877.61 crore meant to verify whether allocated funds were used for their intended purposes, had not been submitted to the Accountant General (Accounts and Entitlements) of Bihar.
This violates Rule 271(e) of the Bihar Treasury Code, which mandates UC submission within 18 months of the financial year in which the grant was released. Additionally, the Bihar government failed to comply with national accounting standards IGAS-1, IGAS-2, and IGAS-3.
“In the absence of UCs, there is no assurance that funds disbursed have been used for the intended purpose,” the CAG stated, warning that this level of pendency is “fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation, and diversion of funds.”
The report revealed that five departments account for the majority of the pending UCs, such as Panchayati Raj Department (Rs 28,154.10 crore), Education Department (Rs 12,623.67 crore),Urban Development and Housing Department (Rs 11,065.50 crore),Rural Development Department (Rs 7,800.48 crore),Agriculture Department (Rs 2,107.63 crore).
Apart from departmental grants, the CAG also found that large sums disbursed to local bodies remained unverified, with Utilisation Certificates pending for Rs 4,277.22 crore given to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Rs 2,221.83 crore to Rural Local Bodies under various central and state schemes, including 15th Finance Commission grants, as of March 31, 2024.
The report also highlighted widespread misuse of Abstract Contingent (AC) bills, which are used to draw advance payments. Departments are required to submit Detailed Contingent (DC) bills within six months to account for the expenses.
However, by March 31, 2024,Rs 9,205.76 crore had been drawn through 22,130 AC bills, but the corresponding DC bills were not submitted.Of this, Rs 5,577.91 crore (over 60%) was for the “creation of capital assets” across sectors like roads, education, health, and rural development.
Notably, Rs 1,041.12 crore was drawn via 1,648 AC bills in March 2024 alone, suggesting a year-end rush to exhaust the budget.
This trend, the CAG noted, reflects “poor public expenditure management” and poses a serious risk of misappropriation. “The non-submission of DC bills within the prescribed period breaches financial discipline,” the audit warned.
The audit also found that 59.95% of the total Rs 77,600.47 crore disbursed as grants-in-aid in 2023–24 was categorised vaguely under “Others”, without specifying the beneficiary institutions or schemes. The absence of proper institutional coding, the CAG stated, “affected the transparency of accounts.”
Further, the report revealed significant ‘parking’ of unspent funds in the Deposit of Local Funds head. Between 2019 and 2024, these unutilised balances accumulated to Rs 30,017.64 crore, even though they were shown as Revenue or Capital Expenditure in state accounts.
The year-wise breakdown of pending Utilisation Certificates (UCs) reveals that Rs 14,452.38 crore relates to grants issued up to 2016–17, followed by Rs 3,746.64 crore in 2017–18, Rs 5,870.67 crore in 2018–19, Rs 17,980.24 crore during 2019–21, Rs 16,014.34 crore in 2021–22, and Rs 12,813.34 crore in 2022–23.
This practice, the audit stated, overstates actual expenditure and reflects serious weaknesses in fiscal reporting.
The CAG report also criticised the state’s internal audit systems, calling them either weak or non-functional. Many earlier audit recommendations were ignored, and departments routinely delayed responses to audit queries, thereby “defeating the very purpose of the audit.”
The CAG observed that the combination of missing UCs, unreconciled advances, off-book fund parking, and opaque accounting entries all point to a “lack of internal controls in the administrative departments.”
Reacting to the findings, Bihar’s Leader of Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, took to X, stating, “Thanks to Modi-Nitish, a scam of Rs 70,000 crore has taken place in Bihar. The CAG has exposed the theft. No work was visible, yet the entire expenditure was shown on paper.”
He further alleged, “Modi and Nitish have created history by committing a scam of this magnitude. Just like the Srijan scam, efforts are now underway, from Delhi to Patna, to manage and cover it up.”
“This is not your fiefdom, government, this is the hard-earned money of the people,” he wrote, demanding answers over the missing Rs 70,877 crore flagged by the CAG.
“Where did the fund go? In whose pocket did it vanish? Is this not corruption? What explanation was given to the nation?” he questioned, highlighting the lack of transparency and accountability.
“There is a government, but where is the empathy? There are questions, but where are the answers? If you are clean, why are the accounts missing?” he asked.
Yadav declared, “Now questions will be asked. The public will demand even more accountability. Or else, admit that this government is drowned in the swamp of corruption.”
“The public will no longer stay silent. There will be no mute pleas anymore. The value of 71,000 crores will not go in vain. These eyes demand justice, roaring for fairness. Now even the chair will ask you, what have you done to the state?, he warned.
“Understand the chronology!” said Tejashwi, “First, commit a CAG-certified scam of 71 thousand crores. Then, entangle the public in irrelevant issues like mutton, fish, and Muslims,” he alleged, “And when the public still dares to ask questions, try to deceive them by copying Tejashwi’s development announcements. Attempt to control the media using advertisements. Then, with the help of the Election Commission and administration, try to snatch the votes of Bihar’s people.”
But Yadav warned that such tactics would no longer work, “They don’t know the truth, that Bihar’s youth, Bihar’s people, Bihar’s journalists, every single citizen of Bihar, is aware and self-respecting. They are ready to teach a lesson to dictators and the corrupt.”
“This time, Bihar will completely wipe them off its map,” he declared.
Rakesh Yadav, the AAP Bihar state president, emphasized that despite efforts to find corruption, the BJP-NDA government only offers cover-ups.
Congress leader and Chairperson of the party’s Social Media and Digital Platforms, Supriya Shrinate, criticised both the government and mainstream media for ignoring damning findings in the latest CAG reports.
“The CAG has exposed many things before as well,” she said, alleging, “But the media is as silent as a pin drop. The same media that used to jump on CAG reports is now lying unconscious. The same media that used to bang tables and ask questions – is now sitting with curd in its mouth.”
The Bihar Legislative Assembly election for all 243 constituencies is scheduled to be held in October or November 2025.
The election heat in Bihar is already rising, with the NDA, comprising BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV), and allies, facing off against the Mahagathbandhan, which includes RJD, Congress, AAP, CPI(ML)L, and other regional players. Both alliances have launched full-scale campaigns, trading sharp barbs and accusations.
 of India has flagged accounting irregularities involving Rs 70,877.61 crore in the state’s finances, giving fresh ammunition to the Opposition.){kind=link}