The state government frequently, and incorrectly, uses a catch-all account to book thousands of crores of rupees in expenditure, a practice criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
In its State Finance Report 2021-22 for Meghalaya, the CAG noted that, in that financial year, the state government booked Rs 2,858.39 crore under the Minor Head 800 account, which was 17.46 per cent (more than one-sixth) of all Revenue and Capital Expenditure, which totalled Rs 16,372.02 crore.
Minor Head 800 is to be operated “only in case where the appropriate Minor Head has not been provided under a Major Head in the accounts,” the CAG report said, adding that if this is a regular occurrence, then the government and Principal Accountant General should discuss the need to appropriate Minor Heads.
“Indiscriminate booking of receipts and expenditure under Minor Head 800 affects transparency and nature of transactions and renders the accounts opaque,” the CAG warned. In a separate part of the report, it stated that “Classification of large amounts under the omnibus Minor Head 800 affects transparency in financial reporting and distorts proper analysis of allocative priorities and quality of expenditure.”
The situation is more worrying as there are instances where as much as 50 per cent or more of expenditure within a given Major Head is routed through the Minor Head 800 account.
There are also instances where there are already suitable accounts for the expenditures to be booked under but that the government still puts them under Minor Head 800. The CAG identified Rs 1,323.22 crore that could have been properly accounted for in this way.
It recommended that the Finance Department “in consultation with the Principal Accountant General (A&E), conduct a comprehensive review of all items presently appearing under Minor Head 800 and ensure that all such receipts and expenditure are in future booked under the appropriate heads of account.”
