CAG Report (symbolic photo)
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India i.e. the CAG has presented a very serious report about the financial capital of the country. In fact, the CAG has expressed concern over the growing dependence on borrowings (OBB i.e. Outkam based Band Ting) in Maharashtra. The CAG warned that such trend affects fiscal transparency and should be brought under legislative control for permanent financial management. Let us also tell you what kind of things are there about the financial capital of the country.
Off budget borrowings can increase difficulties
The CAG report on the finance of Maharashtra state for FY 2023-24 was presented in the assembly on Friday. The report said that the finance of the expert through borrowings besides the budget increases the public date of the state with time, due to which the state gets stuck in the debt trap, and the assembly does not even know that such liabilities are being made. The report said that the increasing use of off-budget borrowings by the Maharashtra government not only affects fiscal transparency, but also leads to avoiding budgetary control and legislative monitoring. The state government will have to improve its fiscal accountability by ensuring that all the liabilities are given extensive details in the annual financial statements. In addition, these off-budget borrowings should be brought under legislative control to ensure sustainable financial management. Off-budget items are government borrowings and expenses which are not shown in the government budget.
Plan of 30 thousand crores was made
These comments of CAG are important at a time when the Maharashtra government has depended on OBB raising. In an interview given to The Indian Express in April 2025, Praveen Pardeshi, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said that the state government has decided to raise funds from off-budget sources for capital experts and plan to raise and spend around Rs 30,000 crore on many major projects. The CAG report states that Maharashtra will have to make a complete disclosure of its liabilities in Form B6 of the fiscal responsibility and Budget Management (MFRBM) Act and Rules (amended in 2006, 2008), in Form B6 of that particular year, which also includes non-governmental liabilities, including non-citizens.
Such increased off budget borrowings
However, the CAG said in its report that despite the need for transparency, non-quotable borrowers were not disclosed in budget documents. According to MTFPS 2023-24, the state government has revealed only Rs 19.40 crore (outstanding outstanding) outstanding non-judicial borrowings. The outstanding off-budget borrowing increased from Rs 51 crore to Rs 10,135 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 10,135 crore by the end of 2023-24, which reflects an increase in state’s dependence on off-budget borrowings for large-scale capital expenditure. In the report, the CAG has pulled it out for serious flaws in the functioning of the Maharashtra State Excise Department, due to which there was a huge reduction in revenue. The report stated that the state suffered a revenue of Rs 20.15 crore and Rs 70.22 crore due to wrong assessment of license renewal fees.