The CAG found that Jammu & Kashmir departments had ₹34,918 crore in unspent savings they never surrendered back to the treasury — a third of the total budget. Better yet, ₹10,598 crore allocated across 160 schemes was entirely unutilized: not partially spent, not delayed, just... ignored. The money existed. The schemes existed. The beneficiaries existed. The spending did not.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has just tabled a report revealing that Jammu & Kashmir's departments collectively sat on ₹34,918 crore in unspent savings during 2023-24 — roughly 33% of the total budget — and simply didn't bother surrendering it back to the treasury, as required by every financial rule ever written. In 45 cases across 28 grants, savings exceeding ₹100 crore were observed without surrender, while 37 cases showed persistently high unspent balances for three consecutive years, suggesting this isn't oversight but tradition. The crown jewel: ₹10,598 crore allocated to 160 schemes under 31 grants remained "entirely unutilized" — meaning the government allocated the money, created the schemes, identified the beneficiaries, and then collectively decided to do absolutely nothing. More than half the allocated funds remained unspent in ten key departments. This is the fiscal equivalent of ordering a lavish dinner, watching it go cold on the table, refusing to eat it, and then not letting anyone else have it either. The CAG noted this results in "denial of benefits to the public," which in bureaucratic language means "people who needed things didn't get things because the people with money couldn't be bothered to spend it."