Public Accounts Committee flags excess spending by four ministries in the government  

Public Accounts Committee report reveals ₹1,291.14 crore overspending by Ministries in 2021-22 Budget, highlighting need for financial discipline.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, in a report tabled during the recently-concluded Winter session of Parliament, revealed that Ministries of Finance, Defence, Railways, and Chemical & Fertilizers spent ₹1,291.14 crore in excess of the 2021-22 Budget sanctioned by Parliament. 

In the report titled ‘Excesses over voted grants and charged appropriations (2021-22)‘, the PAC took the government to task, saying that “overspending should not continue in the age of e-governance and e-payment systems, where Ministries have access to real-time tools to monitor expenditure”.

The Committee found that for the financial year 2021-22, a total of ₹1,291.14 crore was incurred by Ministry of Finance (₹742.56 crore), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (₹493.38), Ministry of Railways (₹55.16), and Ministry of Defence (₹3.17).

When the allocated money for a year’s expenditure is not enough, the government can request an excess grant. This is provided for in Article 115 of the Indian Constitution. If expenditures exceed the approved amounts for voted grants or charged appropriations in a financial year, this excess is disclosed in the accounts and categorised into revenue and capital sections. To facilitate regularisation, Ministries have to furnish explanations to the PAC. 

The panel stressed on the need for strict scrutiny of Budget proposals, continuous monitoring of pace of expenditure and strict adherence to financial rules.

“The consistently weak internal expenditure control mechanism against voted grants and charged appropriations, lack of realistic Budget estimation at revised estimate and Budget Estimate stage and the failure to seek Supplementary Demands are the primary reasons for excess expenditure,” the panel said. 

The panel also pointed out that in all four cases of excess expenditure, the Ministries and departments involved had already obtained substantial Supplementary Grants. Excess expenditures still occurred, with the percentage of overspending ranging from 0.67% to 10.41%.