CAG reports INR 597.94 crore excess disbursement over legislative authorisation across 13 grants and appropriations in Nagaland during 2024-25.
KOHIMA — The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has reported an excess disbursement of INR 597.94 crore over the authorisation made by the state legislature under 13 grants and appropriations during 2024-25 in Nagaland.
This was stated in the CAG’s report on State Finances for the year 2024-25 for Nagaland, which was presented during the ninth Assembly Session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
As per Article 205 of the Constitution of India, excess expenditure over grants and appropriations is required to be regularised by the state legislature.
Although the Article does not prescribe a specific time limit for such regularisation, the process is undertaken after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) completes its examination of the Appropriation Accounts.
The report stated that under Grant No. 64—Housing, against a total provision of INR 42.58 crore under the capital (Voted) section, expenditure of INR 69.74 crore was incurred, resulting in an excess expenditure of INR 27.16 crore.
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The audit also examined Grant Nos. 21 and 82 out of the 13 grants where excess disbursement was reported over the authorisation made by the state legislature.
Under Grant No. 21, a supplementary provision of INR 52.11 crore was made under the capital head for fund allocation under the State Assistance for Capital Investment (SASCI) and additional works. However, the Finance Department issued a drawal authority on March 29, 2025, for INR156.50 crore.
Of this amount, only INR 50 crore pertained to the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), while INR 106.50 crore—comprising INR 100 crore for the Urban Development Department and INR 6.50 crore for the Power Department—related to Grant Nos. 36 and 55, respectively.
Consequently, an excess of INR 106.50 crore was recorded under the capital section of Grant No. 21, the report stated.
Further examination revealed that additional supplementary provisions of INR 314.02 crore and INR 6.50 crore had been made under Grant Nos. 36 (Urban Development) and 55 (Power), respectively.
However, savings of INR 193 crore and INR 20.61 crore were observed under the two grants.
This indicated that the entire INR 156.50 crore was allowed to be drawn under Grant No. 21, although only INR 50 crore was intended for the grant.
The remaining INR 106.50 crore meant for the Urban Development and Power departments should have been drawn under their respective grants, according to the audit.
Under Grant No. 82, although the provision was INR 42.22 crore, the Finance department permitted an additional drawal of INR 20 crore for implementation of the Off-Grid Solar initiative, resulting in excess expenditure under the grant.
The CAG stated that these instances reflected inadequate financial control and non-adherence to the principles of budgetary discipline and grant-specific expenditure.
It recommended that the Finance department ensure strict compliance with budgetary provisions and grant-specific drawal procedures.
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