CAG flags failure to submit UCs of Rs 12,390 Cr
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 21 2026: The State Government has not submitted as many as 7,729 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) for non-recurring Grants-in-Aid amounting to Rs 12,390.48 crore as of March 31, 2025, according to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) tabled during the recent session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

The report mentioned that 3,549 UCs amounting to Rs 6,986.61 crore in respect of 33 departments were pending submission during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

The number increased to 4,151 UCs, involving Rs 8,812.04 crore, in 2019-20 .

Likewise, the number of UCs pending submission increased to 4,862, involving Rs 11,538.28 crore, in 2020-21; 5,342 UCs, involving Rs 12,671.25 crore, in 2021-22; and 6,599 UCs, involving Rs 15,086.85 crore, in 2022-23 .

In 2023-24, the number of pending UCs increased further to 7,729, although the amount involved declined to Rs 12,390.48 crore.

Moreover, the CAG report stated that 94.24 per cent of the total outstanding UCs, i.e 11.676.84 crore pertains to 10 major departments viz Rural Develop- ment and Panchayati Raj (Rs 5,332.29 crore), Power (Rs 1551.18 crore), Department of Tribal Affairs and Hills Development (Rs 1219.03 crore), Municipal Administration, Housing and Urban Development (Rs 1002.17 crore), Education-S (Rs 1001.75 crore), Planning Department (Rs 435.04 crore), Education-U (Rs 366.29 crore), Medical and Health Services (Rs 346.64 crore), Horticulture and Soil Conservation (Rs 273.10 crore) and Forest (Rs 149.35 crore) .

The oldest UCs pertain to the year 2003-04 amounting to Rs 3.43 crore for the Department of Tribal Affairs and Hills Development (10 UCs) and Rs 0.18 crore for Veterinary and Animal Husbandry (9 UCs) .

In the absence of UCs, the CAG said there is no assurance that the funds were utilised for the purpose for which they were sanctioned.

It added that the non-submission of UCs is fraught with the risk of mis-utilisation.

During the Exit Conference held in January 2026, the State Finance Department stated that once the funds are disbursed to respective departments, the process of execution of work takes time at the level of the departments and the same ultimately affects the timely submission of UCs .

However, the CAG report said that the reply of the Finance Department is unacceptable as the oldest UCs were more than 20 years old.

It further said that the UCs for the non-recurring Grant-in-Aid received by the grantee should be submitted to the grantor within 12 months of the closure of the financial year as per the General Financial Rules.

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