The Audit department has slammed the previous Budget of the Kozhikode Corporation, terming it “unrealistic and filled with inconsistent figures”.
In its report released last month, the department highlighted significant disparities between the opening balance stated in the 2021-22 Budget, revised Budget, and the annual financial statement. Furthermore, the report pointed out substantial differences in revenue across various categories, and the civic body failed to provide any supporting documentation to justify such inconsistencies.
The revised Budget for 2021-22 initially declared an opening balance of ₹66.09 crore, only to later revise it to a staggering ₹96.35 crore during the course of the year. In stark contrast, the annual financial statement displayed an opening balance of ₹97.66 crore. Likewise, while the revised Budget projected an expected revenue of ₹624.29 crore, the financial statement painted a considerably more modest picture of ₹407.09 crore.
“The purpose of the Budget is to enforce financial discipline on institutions and thus improve their performance. By not making it realistic, the purpose is defeated,” said the report, rebuking the civic body for flouting instructions outlined in the previous audit reports on budgetary preparations.
There is a difference in revenue while comparing the actual revenue from the previous year with the estimated revenue for the current year. In the previous year, the revenue from property tax was ₹38.97 crore, whereas the revised Budget for 2021-22 estimates a revenue of ₹54.10 crore. However, this difference is not explained. Similar differences have been identified in labour tax, building fees, other user fees, road cutting charges, and entertainment tax.
There are variations in expenditure across various categories. For instance, the estimated expenditure for rent is ₹2.50 lakh, but the financial statement shows an actual expenditure of ₹10.7 lakh. The estimate for salaries is ₹4.75 crore, while the financial statement indicates an expenditure of only ₹2.46 crore. Similarly, the estimate for allowances is ₹1.25 crore, but the financial statement reveals an expenditure of ₹1.52 crore.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafar Ahammed, serving ex-officio as the Finance Standing Committee chairperson, who presented the Budget, declined to comment on the audit report.
