India, July 27 -- The State Finances Audit Report for Bihar 2023-24, prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and unveiled on 24 July, has unveiled a deeply troubling picture of financial mismanagement, exposing systemic lapses that threaten transparency and accountability. With Rs 70,877.61 crore in unverified funds and a litany of procedural failures, the report warns of a fiscal environment ripe for embezzlement and corruption, casting a shadow over the state's governance of public resources.
At the core of the report is the staggering backlog of 49,649 Utilisation Certificates (UCs) worth Rs 70,877.61 crore, outstanding as of March 31, 2024. "Despite the requirement of submitting Utilisation Certificates (UCs) wit...