It is claimed by India’s national auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that the previous BRS government ruled by K.Chandrasekhar Rao didn’t get extra expenditure of Rs 28,88,11 crore in addition to allocation, according to financial years 2014-15 to 2021-22. The news astonished the people who are still reeling from the massive scam being untied in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project probably to the amount of approximately Rs 1,00,000 crore, to scams such as sheep, metro, Dharani, etc.
Reportedly, the CAG cautioned under the BRS, saying, “The extra expenditure is to be regularised post discussion in the Public Accounts Committee in the Legislature. The Committee met 5 times starting from May 2018 to March 2022 to consider the pros and cons of ten paragraphs related to State Finance Audit Reports.” It is said by CAG that the excess expenditure ruined the budgetary system and financial control and enhanced financial indiscipline in the public resources administration.
Taking to X, G.Kishan Reddy criticized KCR badly. He wrote, “This is how the autocratic, corrupt and family rule of BRS looted public money. There was no accountability, no transparency and no Financial Prudence”, by attaching a detailed file with the heading ‘KCR spent Rs 28,88,11,00,00,000 public money without authorisation.
According to Appendix 3.2 of the CAG report on State Finances Audit Report, the excess expenditure without legislative sanction was Rs 303.65 crore in 2014-15, Rs 5,880.79 crore in FY 2015-16, Rs 21,161.59 crore in FY 2016-17, Rs 28,171.27 crore in FY 2017-18, Rs 29,133.69 crore in FY 2018-19, Rs 47,896.43 crore in FY 2019-20, Rs 81,514.54 crore in FY 2020-21 and Rs 75,053 crore in FY 2021-22.
It is also observed by CAG that the BRS government spent less money on various welfare schemes for which the Legislature furnished money, contrary to excess expenditure on fiscal administration. Anyhow, the government has to elucidate if there is a saving on money allocated and excess money spent, to the Public Accounts Committee, as per the internal rules attested by the state Legislature.
The CAG also stated an example on how the BRS government crossed the rules and regulations. It is said, the original provision for the Repayment of Ways and Means Advances was only Rs 100 crore for FY 2021-22. However, it paid Rs 67,274 crore, which is an excess of Rs 67,174 crore.