Rs 70,000 crore financial irregularities detected in Bihar  by CAG  

A new report by India’s top government auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has found serious problems in how Bihar used public money in 2023–24. According to the report, the State government spent over ₹70,000 crore without giving any proof of how or where the money was used.  
These missing documents, called Utilisation Certificates (UCs), are needed to show that government money was spent properly. A total of 49,649 UCs were pending as of March 2024. The departments with the most missing certificates were Panchayati Raj, Education, Urban Development, Rural Development, and Agriculture.  
Without these certificates, the CAG said, there’s no way to be sure the money was used for the right purpose. There’s also a risk that the money could have been misused or even stolen.  
The report also pointed out that ₹22,130 crore was given to departments for emergency use, but proper bills explaining the spending were never submitted.  
In another worrying finding, the State borrowed ₹53.48 crore through a government-run company but did not include it in the official budget. This money still has to be paid back using public funds, but it was not shown in the financial records—making it hard to track.  
The report found more problems: ₹184.52 crore was given out as temporary advances and ₹25.46 crore as small cash funds, but these were never settled. Departments like Building Construction, Public Health, and Road Construction were involved.  
At the same time, Bihar’s budget and economy were growing. The State spent ₹2.60 lakh crore in 2023–24, up from ₹1.49 lakh crore in 2019–20. The economy (GSDP) grew by 14.47% in just one year. But the systems to keep track of how the money was spent are clearly not working well.  
Out of the full ₹3.26 lakh crore budget, nearly ₹65,000 crore was left unused, and ₹23,875 crore was surrendered.  
Even more shocking, the Public Accounts Committee, which is supposed to review such financial matters, did not hold a single meeting in 2023–24. It also failed to review hundreds of past audit issues.  
The report ended by saying that the State still owes ₹144 crore in unpaid interest, and some debts were not shown in the budget at all.  
This report shows that while money is being spent in Bihar, how it is used remains a big question.