SFAR West Bengal 2024-25
State Finances Audit Report
Government of West Bengal
This chapter provides broad based perspective on quality of the State Government Accounts rendered by various authorities of the State Government and status of compliance with prescribed financial rules, procedures and directives.
Compliance with financial rules, procedures and directives as well as the completeness, timeliness and quality of reporting on the status of such compliance enhances relevance and reliability of the information presented in the financial reports.
Article 293(3) of the Constitution of India mandates consent of Government of India for a State Government's borrowing if it has any outstanding loans or guarantees from the Government of India. Further, the XV Finance Commission recommended that the normal limit for net borrowing ceiling (NBC) for the States for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26 may be fixed at three per cent of GSDP.
Bypassing the above stipulated net borrowing ceiling by routing loans outside budget through various State Government Public Sector Undertaking (SPSUs)/ Corporations/ other Bodies, despite the State being responsible for repayment of such loans, poses significant risk to fiscal health and transparency of Government finances. Borrowing Ceilings for a financial year of the State Governments are being now reduced by GoI to the extent of Off-Budget Borrowings.
The West Bengal Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (WBFRBM) Act, 2010 outlined that the State Government shall take suitable measures to ensure greater transparency in its fiscal operations in public interest by inter alia disclosing Off Budget Borrowings. Further, the West Bengal Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Rules, 2011 provided that the 'Medium Term Fiscal Policy (MTFP) Statement' laid before the Legislature along with Budget documents shall contain three-year rolling targets with respect to Revenue Deficit, Fiscal Deficit and total debt stock 58 of the State. For the year 2024-25, debt stock was targeted as 38.19 per cent of GSDP under MTFP and 38 per cent under FRBM Act. Besides, the GoI had fixed borrowing ceiling of ₹ 54,450.30 crore (three per cent of GSDP) for the State during 2024-25.
The State Government did not disclose the off-budget liabilities in their budget documents/annual financial statements. The Government has intimated that there was no off-budget borrowing during the financial year 2024-25.
Undischarged liabilities, such as non-transfer of collected cess to designated bodies or short remittances to the National Pension System (NPS), etc., can have significant long-term fiscal and governance implications. These unpaid obligations accumulate over time, creating hidden liabilities that distort the true financial position of the State. Further, delays in cess transfer hinder the intended development or welfare outcomes, defeating the purpose for which such levies were imposed. Similarly, short transfers to NPS not only violate statutory commitments but also compromise the financial security of employees. Over the years, such practices can erode trust, trigger legal liabilities and increase future expenditure obligations, thereby, constraining fiscal space and weakening fiscal sustainability. Such cases are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
All India Services (AIS) officers and other Central Government employees on deputation to the State recruited on or after 1 January 2004 are covered under the National Pension System (NPS) which is a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme.
During FY 2024-25, the State Government transferred a total contribution of ₹ 17.69 crore (including Government's contribution of ₹ 10.36 crore) for NPS to the Public Account, of which ₹ 17.56 crore was further transferred to NSDL 59. The remaining amount of ₹ 0.13 crore, along with the un-transferred amount of ₹ 1.00 crore at the end of 2023-24 was retained in the Public Account up to the Financial Year 2024-25. Consequently, cash balance of the Government remained overstated to the extent of ₹ 1.13 crore.
As per Section 3(1) of the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare (BOCWW) Cess Act, 1996, and in line with Building & Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Rules, 1998, BOCWW Cess was to be collected at the rate of one per cent of the cost of construction incurred by employers/builders, excluding the cost of land and any compensation payable under the Workmen Compensation Act, 1923. All Departments, Boards, Autonomous Bodies, and Local Authorities were directed to collect this cess on all construction activities, including from individuals with approved residential building plans and deposit the same with the States' Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board. The collected cess was meant to be utilised for social security and welfare of construction workers in the State.
In West Bengal, cess collected is credited to the Public Account under the Head of Account '8342-00-113-Solatium Fund-002-Deposit of Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Fund', administered by the Controller of Finance & Chief Accounts Officer, West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Fund. At the beginning of FY 2024-25, ₹ 2,484.54 crore on account of BOCWW cess remained in the Public Account whereas ₹ 352.51 crore was collected during 2024-25. Out of this, ₹ 60.26 crore was withdrawn, leaving a balance of ₹ 2,776.79 crore as of 31 March 2025.
The National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) was established in August 2015 under Section 9C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. As per Section 9C (4) of this Act, holder of a mining lease or a mineral concession is required to contribute two per cent of the royalty to the NMET Trust. As per the NMET Rules, the State Government is responsible for collecting these contributions, depositing them in the Public Account under Major Head '8449-123-NMET Deposits', and transferring the funds monthly to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The position of NMET Deposits for 2024-25 is indicated in Table 3.1 below.
In FY 2024-25, the entire amount of ₹ 0.41 crore deposited under this head was transferred to the NMET by the State Government. As on 31 March 2025, ₹ 0.09 crore remained un-transferred. The cash balance of the Government is overstated by this amount.
Promptness in disposal of refund cases is an important indicator of performance of the Department concerned. Information on pendency of refund cases from two 60 out of three 61 tax collecting departments during the year 2024-25, is shown below in Table 3.2.
Cesses earmarked for specific purposes are to be credited to the Consolidated Fund in the first instance and thereafter transferred to a Reserve Fund in the Public Account, wherefrom expenditure for specified purposes is adjusted. However, in West Bengal, the following Cess proceeds amounting to ₹ 1,809.66 crore, credited to the Consolidated Fund of the State, during 2024-25, had not been transferred to the Public Account as the GoWB did not create specific funds to transfer these proceeds.
Non-transfer of cess of ₹ 1,809.66 crore resulted in understatement of Revenue Deficit and Fiscal Deficit to that extent. This resulted in understatement of cumulative liabilities in Public Account. Further, it could not be ensured that the cess collected was utilised for the intended purposes.
Article 266(2) of the Constitution of India provides that 'All other public moneys received by or on behalf of the Government of a State shall be credited to the Public Account of the State'. The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) was constituted under the Electricity Act, 2003. Section 103 of the Act stipulates creation of a fund called the 'State Electricity Regulatory Commission Fund' wherein receipts 63 of the Commission are to be credited and expenses therefrom are to be made. The Government of West Bengal enacted the ERC (Fund) Rules, 2006, and in terms of Rule 4, the WBERC was permitted to open a bank account for accommodating such receipts and making expenses therefrom. In keeping with the rule ibid, funds were kept in two bank accounts and as of March 2025, a total of ₹ 15 crore remained in these bank accounts instead of the Public Account of the State. Resultantly, not only did the Constitutional mandate stand violated, but the Public Account balance was also understated by ₹ 15 crore.
Rule 330A of the West Bengal Treasury Rules (WBTR) and Subsidiary Rules (SR) 1997, read with Finance Department's order (August 2005), stipulates that Utilization Certificates (UCs) in respect of conditional Grants-in-Aid should be furnished by the grantee to the authority that sanctioned it within one year from the date of receipt of grant or before applying for a further grant on the same object, whichever is earlier.
As of 1 April 2024, UCs amounting to ₹ 2,56,106 crore were outstanding in the State. Further, during the year 2024-25, UCs amounting to ₹ 18,064 crore became due 64 for submission (grant-in-aid bills drawn up to March 2024). Outstanding UCs amounting to ₹ 1,38,484 crore were cleared during the year, leaving UCs of ₹ 1,35,686 crore outstanding as on 31 March 2025 as given in Table 3.4. Compared to 2023-24, the amount of outstanding UCs reduced by 47 per cent indicating positive efforts taken by the government in submitting the UCs.
Details of outstanding UCs of ₹ 1,35,686.44 crore pertained to 53 departments as given in Appendix 3.1. The five main Departments where UCs were outstanding as on 31 March 2025, are given in Chart 3.1 below:
Since non-submission of UCs is fraught with the risk of misutilisation, it is imperative that the State Government monitor this aspect closely and hold the persons concerned accountable for non-submission of UCs timely.
In emergent circumstances, Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) are authorised to draw sums of money through Abstract Contingent (AC) bills. This is a mechanism to draw money in advance and to make adjustments later when the expenditure is incurred. Despite being advances, these are booked as expenditure at the time of drawal. In terms of the West Bengal Treasury Rules, 2005, DDOs are required to present Detailed Contingent (DC) bills containing vouchers in support of final expenditure within sixty days from the date of drawal of such advance, unless otherwise permitted by the Administrative Department with the concurrence of the Finance Department. Delayed submission or, prolonged non-submission of DC bills may affect the completeness and correctness of accounts.
The details of AC bills, pending adjustment, as on 31 March 2025 is given in Table 3.5 below. Department-wise details of the same are given in Appendix 3.2.
The five major Departments (as on 31 March 2025) where DC Bills were pending, are given in Chart 3.2 below:
Non-adjustment of advances for long periods is fraught with the risk of misappropriation and therefore, requires close monitoring by respective DDOs for ensuring submission of DC bills. However, it was noted that the amount of outstanding AC Bills reduced by 14 per cent in 2024-25 relative to 2023-24 (₹ 661.97 crore in 6,081 bills).
Audit test-checked eight DDOs 65 during June-August 2025 that had pending AC bills amounting to ₹ 118.34 crore at the beginning of the Financial Year 2024-25. During the year, AC bills amounting to ₹ 184.49 crore were drawn by these eight DDOs whereas, ₹ 266.92 crore was adjusted, leaving AC bills amounting to ₹ 35.91 crore as unadjusted at the end of the FY. The following emerged from the test check of these DDOs.
Two DDOs viz. Commanding Officer (CO), SAP, 6th Battalion, Barrackpore and District Magistrate (DM), Uttar Dinajpur did not adjust 79 AC Bills amounting to ₹ 32.13 crore (CO: ₹ 19.84 crore in seven Bills, DM: ₹ 12.29 crore in 72 Bills) drawn between 2002 and 2022. The CO attributed non-submission of DC Bills to non-receipt of supporting vouchers and refunds from different Ordinance Factories, while no reasons for non-adjustment were provided by the DM, Uttar Dinajpur.
Rule 4.116(1) of the WBTR stipulated that no money shall be drawn from the Treasury unless it is required for immediate disbursement.
Five test-checked DDOs, refunded ₹ 36.69 crore (20.78 per cent) pertaining to 156 AC bills aggregating ₹ 176.60 crore, through challans after holding the amounts for a significant period (6 to 463 days), beyond the stipulated period of 60 days. Of this, three DDOs retained the entire amount of ₹ 4.56 crore drawn through nine AC Bills and refunded it with delays (beyond 60 days) ranging from 19 to 118 days. Refund of full/partial advances indicated that AC bills were drawn without assessing the requirement, as mentioned in the Rule ibid. The details are indicated in Appendix 3.3.
As per the List of Major and Minor Heads, recovery of overpayment pertaining to previous year (s) shall be recorded under a distinct Minor Head '911-Deduct-Recoveries of Overpayment' and detailed Head shall be '70-Deduct-Recoveries' under the same major, sub-major, scheme head where the expenditure was originally exhibited.
Audit noticed that four DDO 66 had refunded unutilized advances of ₹ 1.69 crore in FY 2024-25 using Minor Heads other than the distinct Minor Head '911' though funds were drawn during FY 2023-24. This understated the refunds pertaining to previous year(s) by ₹ 1.69 crore.
Personal Deposits (PD) are of the nature of deposits not bearing interest, opened under 8443-Civil Deposits-106-Personal Deposits. Some credits under Personal Deposit Accounts represent mere transfer of money from the Consolidated Fund of the State. Since such transfers are accounted for as expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State, such transfers would overstate the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, if the money so transferred is not utilised within the financial year. Funds in some PD accounts also include receipts 67 from sources other than the Consolidated Fund of the State.
During 2024-25, an amount of ₹ 535.59 crore was transferred from the Consolidated Fund of the State to PD Accounts. However, the quantum of funds remaining unutilised in these PD accounts at the end of the year, out of the funds transferred from the Consolidated Fund was not discernible, as the PD accounts only depicted cumulative balances. As such, the extent of overstatement of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, if any, could not be ascertained.
Audit noted that out of the transfers of ₹ 535.59 crore during the year, ₹ 180.49 crore (34 per cent) was transferred in March 2025, of which ₹ 53.62 crore was transferred on the last working day of March 2025. This was indicative of an attempt to circumvent the lapsing of budget provision. Details of PD accounts as on 31 March 2025 are given in Table 3.6.
In terms of Rule 6.08(5) of West Bengal Treasury Rules (WBTR), 2005, the administrators of Personal Deposit Accounts shall make necessary verification and reconciliation of the balances with the Treasury and shall furnish the certificate to the Treasury Officer on or before 15ᵗʰ May every year. Out of 160 PD Accounts, Administrators of 134 Personal Deposit Accounts had not reconciled and verified their balances with the treasury figures. Thus, the control mechanism to ensure the veracity of PD balances was not functioning as expected.
PD Accounts maintained by seven DDOs 68 having a balance of ₹ 423.32 crore at the beginning of the year 2024-25 were selected for test-check in Audit. During the year, ₹ 231.54 crore was received in these PD Accounts whereas payments of ₹ 339.64 crore were made from them, leaving a closing balance of ₹ 315.22 crore, as of March 2025. The following emerged from the test check.
As per 6.09 (1) (a) of WBTR, 2005, a PD Account created by debit to the Consolidated Fund of the State, other than those created under any law or rule having the force of law by transferring fund from the Consolidated Fund of the State for discharging liabilities of the Government arising out of special enactments, shall be closed at the end of the financial year by minus debit of the balance to the relevant service Heads in the Consolidated Fund of the State. This essentially meant that barring the exceptions mentioned above, funds transferred to PD Accounts from the Consolidated Fund and remaining unutilised, were to be returned to the Consolidated Fund of the State, at the close of the year.
Audit noted that the above provision was not followed by any of the test checked DDOs. Test check revealed that an amount of ₹ 33.56 crore (10.65 per cent of the PD balances of these DDOs) of the funds, remained parked for two years or more (Appendix 3.4) as of March 2025. The major schemes against which funds remained parked are below:
During test-check, Audit noticed that as of March 2025, funds amounting to ₹ 101.33 crore, earmarked for infrastructure expenditure against 11 schemes that were disbursed to the following DDOs upto 2024-25, remained parked in the PD Accounts (Head of Account '8443-106') as detailed in Table 3.7 below:
Parking of the funds in the Personal Deposit Accounts overstated the Capital Expenditure.
Further, non-transfer of unspent balances, lying in PD Accounts, to the Consolidated Fund of the State, entails the risk of misuse of public funds, fraud and misappropriation.
Apart from the above, the following deficiencies were also noticed in test checked PD Accounts.
Minor Head-800 relating to Other Receipts and Other Expenditure is intended to be operated only when the appropriate Minor Head has not been provided in the accounts. Regular operation of Minor Head-800 is to be discouraged, since it renders the accounts opaque. Classification of large amounts under the omnibus Minor Head 800 affects transparency in financial reporting and distorts proper analysis of allocative priorities and quality of expenditure.
During the year 2024-25, ₹ 2,395.67 crore under 61 Major Heads of account, constituting 0.87 per cent of the total Revenue and Capital expenditure (₹ 2,75,048.44 crore) was classified under the Minor Head-800-Other Expenditure in the accounts. Of these, ₹ 707.55 crore in 49 76 cases under 27 Major Heads was classified under Minor Head-800-Other Expenditure as per Finance Accounts, despite availability of appropriate Minor Heads thereunder, as detailed in Appendix 3.5.
Similarly, in case of receipts, ₹ 1,104.80 crore under 47 Major Heads of Account, constituting 0.52 per cent of the total Revenue (₹ 2,13,699.56 crore) was classified under 800-Other Receipts in the accounts. Of these, as per Finance Accounts, the Office of the Accountant General (A & E) identified 23 cases involving ₹ 750.29 crore (Appendix 3.6), where specific Minor Heads could have been used instead of Minor Head '800-Other Receipts'. In addition, there were seven cases (₹ 21.86 crore) where the use of the Minor Head '800' could have been avoided had the receipt been booked under the appropriate Major Head.
Apart from the above, Audit noted that in respect of expenditure of ₹ 11.73 crore in the following two cases appropriate minor heads could have been used, as observed during scrutiny of vouchers:
The Finance Accounts reflect the net balances under Suspense and Remittance Heads. The outstanding balances under these heads are worked out by aggregating the outstanding debit and credit balances separately under various heads. Significant suspense balances for the last three years are shown in Table 3.8.
Non-clearance of outstanding balances under these Heads (except 8658-110) affects Cash Balance of the Government. These uncleared balances pertain to the years between 1977 and 2015-16. Due to non-clearance of these heads, the cash balance remained overstated by ₹ 177.93 crore during 2024-25. It was noted in audit that failed e-payments had contributed to accumulation of significant suspense balances under the Head of Account 8658-00-102-Suspense Account (civil) as elucidated below.
E-payments to the beneficiaries can fail due to various reasons like, wrong bank account number, wrong IFSC code, etc. DDOs are required to modify the beneficiary details and to make the payment again within three months from the date of failed transaction.
Failed e-payments appear under the Head of Account, 8658-Suspense Accounts-00-102-Suspense Account 038-Uncredited Amount, under e-payments. During 2014-15 to 2024-25, it was seen that payments valuing ₹ 2,863.57 crore failed, out of which payments worth ₹ 2,662.03 crore were paid again leaving a balance of ₹ 201.54 crore under the Suspense Head. Thus, though payments were to be made within three months after correction of beneficiary details, failure to do so resulted in accumulation of Suspense balances.
Adverse balance is a situation, when a head of account closing to balances at the end of the financial year, reflects minus balance, debit/ (-) credit balance representing liability heads or, heads where it should normally have credit balance, and credit/ (-) debit balance representing asset heads or, heads where it should normally have debit balance. At the end of 31 March 2025, the following DDR Heads had cumulative adverse balance as detailed in Table 3.9.
The adverse balance in a head of account arises due to misclassification, excess disbursement, disbursement over and above the contribution received, non-carrying forward of balances from one accounting unit to another, administrative reorganization, etc.
The balance of General Provident Fund of Group 'D' employees of the Government of West Bengal (₹ 1,703.41 crore) is not at par with that depicted in the Accounts (₹ 425.30 crore). This needs reconciliation for a true and fair view of the Accounts as such inconsistency may lead to incorrect depiction of Government liabilities in Public Account.
As per accounts of the Accountant General (A&E) West Bengal, the Cash Balance of the State Government as on 31 March 2025 was ₹ 28.52 crore (Credit) while the same was reported as ₹ 5.24 crore (Debit) by the Reserve Bank of India. As such, there was an unreconciled difference of ₹ 33.76 crore, which was under reconciliation between the Accountant General (A&E), West Bengal and the Treasury/ RBI/ Agency Bank.
In this regard, the Accountant General (A&E), West Bengal stated that the difference was mainly due to legacy issues persisting since October, 1987 up to March, 2025 and attributed it to misreporting/wrong reporting of State Reserve Bank Deposit transactions from Agency Banks and State Treasuries to the Office of the Accountant General (A&E), West Bengal.
As per Article 150 of the Constitution of India, the President of India may, on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, prescribe the form of accounts of the Union and of the States. On the advice of the CAG, the President of India has so far notified four Indian Government Accounting Standards (IGAS). Compliance to these Accounting Standards by the State Government as well as deficiencies therein during 2024-25 are detailed in Table 3.10.
Certification of accounts of Autonomous Bodies (ABs), set up by the State Government, is conducted under Sections 19 or 20 of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 (CAG's DPC Act).
The ABs coming under the audit purview of CAG, as per Section 19 or 20 of CAG's DPC Act, are required to submit the annual accounts of a financial year, to Audit, by 30 June of the succeeding year.
The status of submission of accounts to Audit is indicated in Appendix 3.7. As per the latest available information as of 30 September 2025, out of 94 ABs that were required to submit their annual accounts to the CAG of India, only three ABs, namely (i) Burdwan Development Authority, (ii) West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes and (iii) West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission had submitted accounts up to 2024-25. Of the remaining 91 ABs, five had not submitted accounts since their inception, two 77 since 1998-99, one 78 since 2019-20 and two 79 since 2020-21There were 14 ABs 80, the accounts of which have not been submitted for more than six years. In total, against 91 ABs, 421 annual accounts due up to 2024-25 remained pending as of 30 September 2025. The age-wise analysis is indicated in Table 3.11 below.
Non-submission of accounts by Autonomous Bodies is in violation of the prescribed financial rules and directives and is indicative of inadequate internal controls. It also results in reduced transparency and hinders financial oversight over the use of public funds.
Sections 394 and 395 of the Companies Act, 2013, stipulate that Annual Report on the working and affairs of a government company is to be prepared within three months of its Annual General Meeting. The annual report should be laid before the State Legislature together with a copy of the Audit Report and CAG's comments, if any, on this audit report. Almost similar provisions exist in the respective acts regulating Statutory Corporations. The above mechanism provides the necessary legislative control over the utilisation of public funds invested in the companies and corporations from the Consolidated Fund of the State.
The State Government provided budgetary support (equity, loans, grants, and others) of ₹ 10,949.88 crore up to 2024-25 81 to 57 SPSEs 82, the accounts of which were not finalised up to 31 March 2025. The arrear of accounts ranged between one to 18 years, in violation of provisions of the Companies Act/Acts of the respective Statutory Corporations/ SPSEs (Appendix 3.8).
Due to non-finalisation of accounts, the CAG was unable to perform the supplementary audit of companies, as stipulated in relevant Acts. In the absence of timely finalisation of accounts, results of the investment made by the Government in these companies, remained outside the purview of the State Legislature and escaped scrutiny by Audit. Consequently, corrective measures, if any, required for ensuring accountability and improving efficiency could not be taken in time. The risk of fraud and misutilisation of public money could not be ruled out.
Rule 42 of the West Bengal Financial Rules (WBFR), 1979 stipulates that every Government employee would be held personally responsible for any loss sustained by Government through fraud or negligence on his part or any loss arising from fraud or negligence on the part of any other Government employee to the extent that he contributed to the loss by his own action or negligence.
As per Rule 39 of WBFR any loss of public money, departmental revenue or receipts, stamps, opium, stores or other property held by or on behalf of Government, caused by defalcation or otherwise, which is discovered in a treasury or other office or department, should be immediately reported by the officer concerned to his immediate official superior as well as to the Accountant-General. However, no such reports are received. However, information on misappropriation, losses, thefts etc., as available with the Office of the Pr. Accountant General (Audit-I), West Bengal and Office of the Pr. Accountant General (Audit-II), West Bengal is indicated below.
As on 31 March 2025, 224 cases of misappropriation, loss, theft, etc., involving ₹ 411.25 crore were pending initiation/completion of departmental investigation and recovery. The break-up of such cases is indicated in Table 3.12. Department-wise break-up of pending cases is given in Appendix 3.9.
The age-profile of the pending cases and the number of cases pending in each category, is summarised in Table 3.13.
Out of total 224, cases pending for more than ten years involved 39 misappropriation cases (₹ 3.56 crore), eight cases of loss (₹ 96.53 crore) and 17 cases of theft (₹ 0.29 crore).
Out of the total 224 cases, departmental action had been initiated (but not finalised) against 53 cases (₹139.02 crore) having pendency ranging from 0 to 15 years. These pertained mainly to Irrigation & Waterways Department (22 cases) and Public Health Engineering Department (15 cases). In 57 cases involving ₹ 145.02 crore, departmental and criminal proceedings were pending. These mainly pertained to Irrigation & Waterways (16), Public Works (11), Water Resources Investigation & Development (9) and Public Health Engineering (9) departments.
Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Public Accounts of the West Bengal Assembly, promulgated in 1977, provide that, after tabling the Report in the State Legislature, the State Government departments are required to submit replies to the audit observations within one month. Status of tabling of Audit Reports, for the period from 2015-16 to 2020-21, is shown in Table 3.14.
The SFARs for the year 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 were handed over to the State Government on 19 April 2023, 03 July 2024 and 02 April 2025 respectively. However, the Reports are yet to be tabled before the State Legislature. SFAR for the year 2015-16 was discussed by the PAC in December 2019. In February 2021, PAC had brought out a report containing its recommendations. The Action Taken Note on the recommendations, however, is yet to be furnished by the State Government (September 2025). Such lack of responsiveness is a matter of serious concern and goes against the basic tenets of legislative control over expenditure from the public exchequer and undermines the importance of the Legislature.
| Positive Indicators | Negative Indicators |
|---|---|
| Downward trend of outstanding AC bills | Non-tabling of SFARs for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 |
| Downward trend in the balances of PD Accounts | Non-submission of accounts by Autonomous Bodies. |
| Downward trend in booking under Minor Head '800 – Other Expenditure' | Non-transfer of cess proceeds to Public Account. |
| Decrease in the pending amount of UCs |
During the years 2020-21 to 2024-25, cent per cent of the Receipts, Expenditure were reconciled between Controlling Officers and the Office of the A.G. (A&E), West Bengal.