Jharkhand has no bills for Rs.6,700 crore officials spent

RANCHI - The Jharkhand government has stepped up its efforts to trace the details of Rs.6,700 crore spent on various works by officials in the last 10 years - the bills for which were never produced.

After the state’s formation in 2000, Rs.6,700 worth work bills known as Abstract Contingent (AC) and Details Contingent (DC) have not been submitted to the state government by officials.

The amount is withdrawn as advance payment from the government treasury. The bills are pending in nearly all the government departments, according to authoritative sources.

The officials have to submit AC bills to the government and DC bills to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) office.

“We have directed officials to submit the AC and DC bills at the earliest. Bills worth Rs.6,700 crore are still pending,” Jharkhand Finance Secretary Sukhdeo Singh told IANS.

Government sources said Rs.2,178 crore AC and DC bills are pending from the rural development department of the state.

“The officials, by not producing the bills, try to save themselves from accounting. Such moves are resorted to only to protect themselves from wrongdoings,” a source said.

The sources said the successive state governments failed to check the fraud.

“In the name of such bills, many officials transfer government money in their own personal accounts. They keep sitting over the money and earn interest generated in their accounts. The state government hardly took any action on erring officials,” a source said.