West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led state government for not tabling several Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports before the Assembly and has urged it to do so “to ensure fiscal prudence and transparency”. He has also asked the government to issue a white paper on the fiscal situation in the state.
Terming the non-tabling of the reports “a gross violation of the constitutional obligation by the government”, a statement posted by the Raj Bhavan media cell on X on Friday said, “The fiscal situation of West Bengal is confronting multiple fiscal risks and public financial management issues…The Govt needs to initiate action so that the CAG reports are tabled in the Assembly. Financial transparency is imperative for any Government. The State of West Bengal presents a bleak and imprudent fiscal scenario.”
“In the Parliamentary system of accountability, the audit reports produced by the CAG play a critical role in assessing the effectiveness and functioning of state governments. Therefore, the timely tabling of these reports before the State Legislature is of utmost importance. Any delay in the presentation of these reports compromises on the timeliness of the issues raised in the reports and undermines both the work of the CAG and the sanctity of constitutional provisions,” the statement added.
The statement lists six CAG reports on the government that have allegedly not been tabled –Compliance Audit Report 2020-2021 (Report No. 2 of 2022); Audit Report 2020-2021 (Report No. 3 of 2022); State Finances Audit Report (SFAR) 2021-2022 (Report No. 1 of 2023); Audit Report 2021-2022 (Report No. 2 of 2023); Performance and Compliance Audit Report – 2021-2022 (Report No. 1 of 2024); and State Finances Audit Report (SFAR) 2022-2023 (Report No. 2 of 2024).
It further highlights the “lessons to be learnt”, stating that firstly, “State government expenses are much higher than its income; this makes it difficult for government to fund economic and social development in the State”.
Secondly, the statement mentions, “The fiscal deficit of 3.8 per cent fuels price rise making it difficult for the common man to afford even basic necessities like food, fuel etc.”
“The debt to GSDP [Gross State Domestic Product] ratio of 38 per cent means that the lion’s share of the State’s income goes towards repayment of loans thereby leaving very little for other expenses,” it adds.
“The interest to revenue receipts of 20 per cent means that 20 paise on every rupee of revenue of the State government goes towards payment of interest on loans; this is similar to a common man having to pay 20 per cent of his meagre income to a lender thereby leaving only 80 per cent of his income for family, health and subsistence expenses,” it further states.
Saying that “more than half the revenue received by the State Government is actually in the form of transfers from Central Government” and that the state government has “very little means to meet its own expenses”, the statement adds, “Local governments have low fiscal autonomy and therefore do not have the resources to invest in their local communities; this further increases income and opportunity inequalities among the underprivileged sections of society…”.
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