The Manipur Congress has questioned the state government’s handling of public finances after citing figures from the CAG’s State Finances Audit Report for 2024-25, particularly the large unspent budget allocation, low capital spending, rising debt and unfinished projects.
Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh said the figures reflected shortcomings in financial and budgetary management. Speaking at Congress Bhavan, he called for responsibility to be fixed for the issues highlighted and said those unable to discharge their duties should step down.
Singh said Rs 8,927.55 crore, or 23.88 per cent, of the state’s total budget provision of Rs 37,392.66 crore was not spent during 2024-25. Capital spending was also considerably below the allocation, with only Rs 2,704.23 crore utilised against a provision of Rs 8,989.60 crore.
He also questioned the difference between the grants-in-aid anticipated from the Centre and the amount actually received. Against a budget estimate of Rs 16,015.85 crore, the state received Rs 5,473.21 crore, according to figures cited by him.
The Congress leader drew attention to the state’s borrowing burden as well. Manipur raised Rs 11,599.08 crore through gross borrowings during the year, with Rs 9,420.41 crore used to repay earlier principal. Total gross debt and other obligations increased from Rs 18,871.79 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 20,846.88 crore at the end of 2024-25. Interest payments during the year amounted to Rs 1,022.23 crore.
Project implementation was another area of concern raised by Singh. He said 138 projects remained incomplete even after Rs 7,473.53 crore had been spent on them, potentially delaying the benefits for which they were undertaken.
Singh also pointed to Rs 229.94 crore in savings under the Relief and Disaster Management grant during 2024-25, noting that significant savings had been recorded under the same head in earlier years.
Calling the CAG a constitutional auditor rather than a political organisation, Singh said the audit findings should prompt the government to examine its financial decisions and project implementation. He demanded accountability for the issues cited by the party.
The CAG report, prepared for submission to the Governor under Article 151 of the Constitution, provides an assessment of Manipur’s finances, including revenue, expenditure, borrowing, debt and budget management during 2024-25.
