Kolkata: The previous govt in Bengal inflated demand for central assistance by around Rs 32,000 crore by overstating the damage caused by super cyclone Amphan in May 2020, a CAG report said. This was among 28 CAG reports that were placed in the assembly on Saturday.
Amphan made landfall on May 20, affecting 16 districts of Bengal.
The state govt sought central assistance of Rs 35,018 crore from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). A central assistance of Rs 2,707.7 crore was recommended from NDRF, subject to adjustment of 50% of the balance available in the State Disaster Response Fund account as on March 31 of the preceding financial year.
“The assessment of damages by the West Bengal govt for claiming central assistance was exaggerated and unrealistically high, and it was not supported by proper evidence of actual damages,” the report said.
The state demanded close to Rs 18,000 crore in central assistance for families whose houses were damaged in Amphan.
The CAG pointed to inconsistencies in distribution of house-building grants. It noted that up to June 2020, all households with fully or partially damaged houses received Rs 20,000 each. However, after June 2020, beneficiaries with fully damaged houses continued to receive Rs 20,000, while those with partially damaged houses received Rs 25,000 each.
The report revealed that house-building grants were credited more than once to the accounts of 9,226 beneficiaries, involving Rs 18 crore as “multiple payments”.
Laying the CAG reports from FY 2020-21 to 2024-25, state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta said the reports will give “a true picture” of the state’s finances and explain the reasons behind Bengal’s debt burden of more than Rs 8 lakh crore.
Referring to the previous Trinamool Congress govt’s failure to present audit reports in the assembly, Dasgupta said: “Keeping that constitutional lapse in mind, we are tabling 28 volumes of CAG report before the House.”
Calling it a serious constitutional impropriety, he said: “For some known and unknown reasons, the reports were not tabled for several years. We want to hold a special assembly session in the coming days where these CAG reports will be discussed. It is very important. It is our duty to place the govt’s mistakes before the people.”
The reports tabled on Saturday included the state’s finance accounts, appropriation accounts and compliance audit reports for various departments, besides performance audits of public health infrastructure and healthcare services, panchayati raj institutions, integrated child development services, Samagra Shiksha programme’s implementation and other sectors.