Pawan Khera alleges Rs 70,800 crore scam in Bihar, blames NDA govt

Patna, July 30 Veteran Congress leader and party's Media and Publicity Department Chairman, Pawan Khera, on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar, alleging a massive Rs 70,877 crore scam following revelations in the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.

Speaking at a press conference at the state party headquarters in Patna's Sadaqat Ashram, Khera described the alleged irregularities as not just a state-level scam, but a "national scam", saying that funds from the Central government were also involved.

He accused the double-engine government of financial mismanagement, claiming Utilisation Certificates (UCs) for funds allocated under key government schemes had not been submitted by as many as 10 major departments of the Bihar government.

Khera cited the department-wise figures from the CAG report, alleging Rs 28,154 crore in Panchayati Raj, Rs 12,623 crore in Education, Rs 11,065 crore in Urban Development, Rs 7,800 crore in Rural Development, Rs 2,107 crore in Agriculture, Rs 1,397 crore in Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe Welfare, Rs 941 crore in Social Welfare, Rs 911 crore in Backward and Extremely Backward Welfare, Rs 860 crore in Health and Rs 804 crore in Cooperative Department.

"These departments have failed to submit UCs, meaning there is no evidence of whether the funds were actually used. This raises serious concerns about misappropriation and large-scale corruption," he said.

Khera also added that corruption is institutionalised under the current NDA government in Bihar, alleging that senior Ministers, bureaucrats, and officials have a "fixed commission of 50 per cent".

He said that the CAG's role is to audit every government department, and the non-submission of UCs clearly points toward fund diversion or misuse.

Citing fiscal inefficiency, Khera also claimed that over the past five years, the Bihar government has failed to spend Rs 3,59,667 crore from its own state budget.

"Bihar continues to struggle with unemployment, mass migration, poor education, and inadequate healthcare, yet the state government is unable to utilise allocated funds. This is not incompetence -- this is deliberate corruption," the veteran Congress leader alleged.

He also accused the Centre of being complicit by not demanding accountability despite knowing the status of Central fund disbursal.

The allegations come days after the CAG report for Financial Year 2023-24 flagged delays in UC submissions by the Bihar government.

While the NDA government has dismissed it as a "routine accounting matter," the Opposition has seized on the issue as evidence of misgovernance and corruption.

As political temperatures rise ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar, the issue of fund utilisation and fiscal transparency is likely to remain a key flashpoint between the NDA and Opposition INDIA bloc.

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