The Jharkhand government is certainly not in the pink of its financial health, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India report indicates.

“The Jharkhand government should rationalise its investments and loans advanced to various entities so that the return on investments and loans at least matches the government borrowing cost,” the CAG recommended in the audit report on state finances for 2018-19 that was laid in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday.

The state had not achieved revenue surplus and fiscal deficit to gross state domestic product (GSDP) ratio as was targeted in the medium term fiscal policy (MTFP) statement, the report pointed out, adding it also did not achieve the normative projection of the Fourteenth Finance Commission in respect of outstanding debt to GSDP ratio for the year ended March 2019.

The fiscal deficit of Rs 6,629 crore in that year was 2.16 per cent of GSDP against 3.25 per cent recommended by the 14th Finance Commission and 2.61 per cent targeted under MTFP.

Primary deficit of the state improved significantly from Rs 7,271 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1,777 crore in 2018-19. Though revenue receipt increased by 6.44 per cent — from previous year’s Rs 52,756 to Rs 56,152 crore — it was lower than budget estimate of Rs 69,578 crore, CAG report said, adding revenue expenditure of Rs 50,631 crore against estimated Rs 61,523 crore was even less than previous year’s amount of Rs 50,952 while capital expenditure also decreased by 10.38 per cent.

Major government departments such as agriculture, rural development, urban development, education, forest and welfare did not utilise the budget grants in full, resulting in savings of Rs 20,223.74 crore, the report further said.

In case of 21 grants, 62.48 per cent of the total expenditure of Rs 10,151.23 crore was made in the last quarter of the financial year and 36.37 per cent in March 2019 alone, the report further said, indicating a tendency of hurriedly exhausting the grant.

Utilisation certificates in respect of grants-in-aid bills for Rs 53,379 crore that were drawn by different departments till March 2018 remained outstanding at the end of March 2019, the report further pointed out and added detailed contingent bills for Rs 5,479 crore were also due till that time.

In the second and penultimate day of the monsoon session of the Assembly, chief minister Hemant Soren assured that the government would look into the demand of assistant police personnel who had been camping at Ranchi’s Morbadi ground since September 12 for pressing their demand for regularisation of their service.

Describing it to be “the burden given by the previous government” Soren assured that the case of the assistant police personnel would be considered sympathetically..