‘Manipur may lose further grants’
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 10: Lack of transparency, accountability, and failure to complete projects in a time-bound manner may be the reason for various Government Departments' inability to submit utilization certificates, said Serto Tondana Kom today.
Speaking to reporters at Manipur Press Club, the social researcher said as many as 38 departments of the Government failed to submit utilization certificates as per CAG's 2023-24 State Finances Report.
According to the report, the 38 departments failed to submit 6,599 utilization certificates amounting to Rs 15,086.85 crore.
A utilization certificate (UC) is an official document issued to confirm that funds, grants, or subsidies have been used for their exact intended purpose. It verifies that all expenditures align with the original sanction conditions and outlines the total amount received, utilized, and any remaining balance.
Serto said departments including RD and PR, Power, Education (S), Education (U), MHUD, TA, Planning, Medical, Horticulture and Forest top the list of departments which have maximum number of unsubmitted utilization certificates.
The term of the 15th Finance Commission officially concluded on March 31, 2026. Unfortunately Manipur was unable to claim approximately Rs 629 crore local body grant due to inability to conduct polls, Serto said.
The 16th Finance Commission has come into force and a budget of around Rs 2,130 crore has been allocated for rural, urban bodies and disaster management. In absence of elections of the local bodies, the State may not again get this grant, Serto added. Manipur has its own Finance Commission but it is existing only on paper. Revitalizing the commission and streamlining the functioning of the departments to ensure transparency and accountability may enable the State to receive more grants and bring development, Serto said.
IMPHAL, Jul 10: Lack of transparency, accountability, and failure to complete projects in a time-bound manner may be the reason for various Government Departments' inability to submit utilization certificates, said Serto Tondana Kom today.
Speaking to reporters at Manipur Press Club, the social researcher said as many as 38 departments of the Government failed to submit utilization certificates as per CAG's 2023-24 State Finances Report.
According to the report, the 38 departments failed to submit 6,599 utilization certificates amounting to Rs 15,086.85 crore.
A utilization certificate (UC) is an official document issued to confirm that funds, grants, or subsidies have been used for their exact intended purpose. It verifies that all expenditures align with the original sanction conditions and outlines the total amount received, utilized, and any remaining balance.
Serto said departments including RD and PR, Power, Education (S), Education (U), MHUD, TA, Planning, Medical, Horticulture and Forest top the list of departments which have maximum number of unsubmitted utilization certificates.
The term of the 15th Finance Commission officially concluded on March 31, 2026. Unfortunately Manipur was unable to claim approximately Rs 629 crore local body grant due to inability to conduct polls, Serto said.
The 16th Finance Commission has come into force and a budget of around Rs 2,130 crore has been allocated for rural, urban bodies and disaster management. In absence of elections of the local bodies, the State may not again get this grant, Serto added. Manipur has its own Finance Commission but it is existing only on paper. Revitalizing the commission and streamlining the functioning of the departments to ensure transparency and accountability may enable the State to receive more grants and bring development, Serto said.