look news india
West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose has written a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking for an account of the budget expenditure received from the Central Government. He has said in the letter that his government should file a report as to where the Rs 1.17 lakh crore received by the Central Government in the financial year 2023-24 was spent? In which schemes was it used?
Allegation of misuse of central funds
According to a Raj Bhavan official, Governor Bose has received information that the state government has not presented several reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the Assembly in violation of its constitutional obligation. The letter said that the West Bengal government was allocated central funds of Rs 1.17 lakh crore in the financial year 2023-24. There have been allegations of misuse of this fund.
GSDP-Debt Increase
In the letter, Governor Bose also threw light on some issues. He said the state's fiscal deficit in 2018-19 was around Rs 33,500 crore. Which will increase to approximately Rs. in 2022-23. Will be Rs 49,000 crore. Whereas the GSDP-debt ratio has increased from 35.69 percent to more than 37 percent.
Bengal government benefited a lot from Finance Commission
Bose also said that a significant portion of the public debt receipts were used by the state government for debt repayment from 2021-22 to 2022-23. It was written in the letter that the West Bengal government has also benefited a lot from the Finance Commission. In 2023-24, West Bengal's total Rs. Revenue of Rs 2.13 lakh crore, only central transfers. 1.17 lakh crore, which was about 55 percent of the state's total revenue.
The Governor also mentioned the provision of Article 151
He said that the West Bengal government has not yet presented the six audit reports of CAG in the Assembly. Bose also referred to the provision in Article 151 of the Constitution of India. Under this, the audit report of CAG related to the accounts of the state will be submitted to the Governor, who will present it in the Assembly.
Asked to issue white paper on financial situation
Bose said, the rules also say that the state government needs to initiate proceedings so that the CAG report can be presented in the Assembly. The Governor has asked the state government to place it before the Cabinet and issue a white paper on the financial situation to ensure fiscal prudence and transparency.