India's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has reported revenue arrears of ₹4,884.86 crore to the Bihar government as of March 31, 2023. Of this amount, ₹1,430.32 crore has been outstanding for more than five years. The report, tabled in the Bihar Legislature on February 26, 2026, also points to financial mismanagements across several departments.
The CAG report states that the Bihar government's total receipts for the 2022-2023 financial year amounted to ₹1,72,688.02 crore, with ₹48,152.63 crore raised from its own resources. The share from the Government of India was ₹1,24,535.39 crore, accounting for 72.12% of total receipts. As of March 31, 2023, arrears under principal heads of revenue stood at ₹4,884.86 crore, including ₹1,430.32 crore outstanding for over five years.
Arrears are categorized across departments. The Mines and Geology Department failed to provide details on dues older than five years. A mismatch of ₹64.91 crore in TDS/TCS tax liability was found in 12 cases involving eight taxpayers across seven circles. Non-compliance with departmental instructions for collecting road, education, health, and agriculture cesses by District Land Acquisition Offices led to a shortfall of ₹1.15 crore.
The Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited incurred ₹5.35 crore in infructuous expenditure on an incomplete bridge due to overlooking requirements of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. Underassessment, short levy, or revenue loss totaled ₹4,719.19 crore in 1,764 cases. Departments accepted deficiencies worth ₹23.09 crore in 263 cases and reported recovery of ₹1.57 crore in 82 cases. Twenty registering authorities failed to detect undervaluation in 42 instruments, resulting in a short levy of ₹4.45 crore in stamp duty and registration fees.
Out of 37 working State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs), 13 incurred losses in 2022-2023. As of March 31, 2023, 14 SPSEs had accumulated losses of ₹27,307.96 crore, with the net worth of 10 becoming negative. The Bihar State Educational Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited's lax monitoring of bank guarantee renewals and verification led to undue favor of ₹94.25 lakh to contractors.
Under the Mukhyamantri Kshetra Vikas Yojana (MKVY), 28 to 59% of available funds remained unutilized in 13 test-checked divisions of the Local Area Engineering Organization. The Bihar Local Area Development Agency did not prepare model designs or estimates for MKVY works. Significantly lower expenditure on Information, Education, and Communication activities affected beneficiary awareness and verification levels.
