Moa Jamir
Dimapur | September 9
At the end of March 2024, Nagaland had 34 cases of misappropriation, losses, and theft of government funds and property worth Rs 350.14 crore pending final action, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
Education, Disaster Management, and PWD were among the biggest defaulting departments, reflected in the CAG’s report on ‘State Finances for the year 2023-24’ presented during the recently concluded seventh session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on September 4.
The School Education Department topped the list with three cases amounting to Rs 83.31 crore, of which Rs 70.51 crore is shown as “awaiting departmental and criminal investigation,” while the rest are currently under investigation or trial in courts.
The second highest was reported by the Department of Disaster Management at Rs 74.04 crore across two cases, all awaiting departmental action.
The Public Works Department (PWD) accounted for four cases amounting to Rs 58.23 crore, while ‘Various Departments’ accounted for Rs 34.09 crore, with Rs 32.37 crore still awaiting departmental action.
Other departments with substantial amounts were Water Resources (Rs 28.6 crore); Taxes (Rs 26.62 crore); Planning and Transformation (Rs 20.23 crore); and Health and Family Welfare (Rs 13.14 crore).
In the case of Health and Family Welfare, out of Rs 13.14 crore, only Rs 3.56 crore was shown to be awaiting departmental action, while the rest were under investigation or trial in courts.
According to the CAG, out of the 34 cases amounting to Rs 350.14 crore, four cases involving Rs 25.76 crore were reportedly pending in courts. The remaining 30 cases amounting to Rs 324.38 crore were pending final action from the concerned departments.
Further, out of the 34 cases, there were 10 cases of loss to the Government due to theft, misappropriation, and loss of Government materials involving Rs 117.63 crore, the report stated. Out of this, an amount of Rs 5.81 crore has been recovered, it added without elaborating.
The report further indicated that out of the 34 cases, 12 had been pending action for 5–10 years, while 22 were pending for up to five years.
