Maharashtra's fiscal management has come under sharp scrutiny after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its State Finances Audit Report for 2024-25, flagged significant budgetary inefficiencies, accounting irregularities, understatement of key fiscal indicators and widespread governance lapses across several government departments.
The report raises concerns over weak budget estimation, expenditure control and adherence to financial propriety, while highlighting irregularities in flagship welfare schemes, education, social justice, housing, revenue administration, disaster relief, medical education and urban development.
Ladki Bahin Yojana records ₹3,541 crore excess expenditure
One of the report's most significant observations relates to the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, launched in June 2024 to provide eligible women aged 21-65 years with a monthly financial assistance of ₹1,500 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The audit noted that while the scheme was provided a total grant of ₹29,693.09 crore—including ₹26,200 crore through supplementary demands and ₹3,490.75 crore reappropriated from the Lek Ladki Yojana, the Women and Child Development Department incurred an expenditure of ₹33,237.24 crore, resulting in an excess expenditure of ₹3,541.16 crore without furnishing any specific justification.
The CAG further found that ₹15,586 crore, drawn between January and March 2025, was transferred to Virtual Personal Deposit Accounts (VPDA) instead of being utilised immediately. The audit observed that the practice amounted to parking of funds without actual expenditure requirements, violating principles of budgetary discipline and financial propriety.
According to the report, the scheme's implementation reflected significant deficiencies in budget estimation, expenditure control and financial management, undermining legislative oversight of public finances.
Rush of expenditure at year-end raises concerns- The audit also criticised the State Government for concentrating expenditure in the closing months of the financial year, contrary to General Financial Rules and Bombay Financial Rules.
The Water Supply and Sanitation sector witnessed negligible expenditure during the initial months of 2024-25, followed by a sharp spike in the last quarter. Expenditure in March alone reached ₹2,127 crore, indicating weak planning and inadequate monitoring of scheme implementation.
Other Highlights:
New schemes worth over ₹7,900 crore introduced
The report noted that Maharashtra introduced new schemes involving ₹600.50 crore in capital expenditure and ₹7,246.79 crore in revenue expenditure during 2024-25. Against a total expenditure of ₹7,907.29 crore, the State contributed ₹7,551.55 crore, while the Centre's share stood at ₹355.74 crore.
Tribal Education Scheme: Reduced capacity despite rising demand
The CAG identified serious deficiencies in the Tribal Development Department's ‘Namankit Residential Schools’ scheme for educating tribal students in recognised English-medium residential private schools. Among the major findings:
* New admissions consistently fell short of the target of 25,000 students between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
* Approved seats declined from 5,675 to 2,910, even as demand remained high.
* In 2022-23, 1,902 eligible students seeking admission to Class II were denied admission following a policy decision.
* The number of participating schools fell from 176 to 157, reducing opportunities for eligible tribal students.
* The audit also flagged arbitrary revision of school gradings, resulting in ₹9.53 crore in arrears paid to 16 schools, despite no provision permitting such revisions.
It further observed repeated approval of schools failing to meet eligibility norms, delayed admissions, weak monitoring, absence of teacher proficiency assessments and lack of utilisation certificates to verify whether government funds actually benefited tribal students.
The report also highlighted irregular approvals of day-boarding schools not covered under scheme guidelines and serious deficiencies in inspections, hostel monitoring and distribution of educational materials.
Social Justice Department: Hostel infrastructure and Swadhar scheme found wanting
The CAG identified multiple shortcomings in hostel facilities and implementation of the Swadhar Scheme for Scheduled Caste and Neo-Buddhist students. Among the major findings:
* The decision to halt construction of new government hostels without expanding the Swadhar Scheme left 117 talukas without hostel facilities, affecting students in 8,930 educational institutions.
* The department failed to prepare a time-bound roadmap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of establishing 500 government hostels.
* Government hostels underutilised allocated funds, leaving ₹56.65 crore unspent during 2023-24.
* Delays in fund release and verification led to short payment of ₹57.82 lakh to 1,302 students under the Swadhar Scheme.
* Incorrect calculation of maintenance allowances resulted in additional short payments of ₹9.10 lakh and excess payments of ₹3.87 lakh.
The audit also highlighted deficiencies in planning and coordination that rendered newly constructed hostels in Kalyan unusable despite expenditure of ₹4.55 crore.
As of March 2024, 155 out of 443 government hostels were operating from rented buildings, with many accommodating fewer students than their sanctioned capacity. Nearly half of the inspected hostels lacked wardens, while five girls' hostels were managed by male wardens.
The report further identified widespread deficiencies in CCTV surveillance, fire safety, libraries, computer facilities and accessibility infrastructure. Physical verification of aided hostels also revealed instances of allegedly bogus operations, closed facilities and payments amounting to ₹1.62 crore made to six hostels despite serious irregularities.
Revenue and Forest Department
The audit identified several financial and administrative lapses in the Revenue and Forest Department. These include:
* Pending recovery of ₹217.99 crore from banks, institutions and government departments for online land record services.
Short levy of occupancy charges amounting to ₹69.10 lakh on land allotted for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project due to incorrect application of rates.
* ₹2.74 crore spent on staff quarters at Gondia that remained unfruitful because of poor planning and unsuitable site selection.
In the Disaster Management wing, flaws in financial assistance systems led to excess payments of ₹2.60 crore to farmers affected by natural calamities in two districts.
Housing Department
The CAG reported irregularities in slum rehabilitation projects, including:
* Excess sanction of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) valued at nearly ₹35.8 crore due to incorrect computation of permissible Floor Space Index (FSI).
* Undue benefit of ₹18.49 crore extended to a developer by allowing slum FSI on an unencumbered school plot.
Medical Education
The report found that failure to comply with Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana guidelines resulted in idle investment of ₹39.08 crore on unused medical equipment at Shri Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College and Hospital, Yavatmal.
Urban Development
The audit also criticised the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for delays in tendering parking contracts. The delays resulted in cancellation of tenders, non-utilisation of parking facilities and a revenue loss of ₹5.93 crore.
