Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Manipur is drowning in debt. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report reveals the state’s outstanding public debt hit Rs 16,193.78 crore by the end of the 2024–25 fiscal year. Over Rs 10,638.89 crore of that total must be repaid within the next decade.
The state blew past its financial safety limits. The fiscal deficit touched 4.16% of the Gross State Domestic Product, ignoring the 3% cap set by the Manipur Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. Auditors caught the government playing games with the books. Officials overstated revenue surplus and understated the deficit by Rs 0.61 crore by mislabeling revenue spending as capital expenditure.
The state also dumped Rs 96.69 crore into unbudgeted loan repayments for the Planning and Development Authority and the Manipur Police Housing Corporation. "The CAG warned that prolonged delays could result in significant cost escalation while depriving citizens of the intended benefits of the projects."
Paperwork is missing everywhere. By March 31, 2025, 7,729 utilisation certificates worth Rs 12,390.48 crore remained outstanding, some dating back twenty years. Another 2,282 Detailed Countersigned Contingent bills totaling Rs 9,448.82 crore are stuck in limbo. Eight autonomous bodies failed to turn in 27 annual accounts covering the last six years.
Infrastructure projects are dead in the water. 138 jobs sit incomplete with Rs 473.53 crore of the total Rs 946.11 crore project cost trapped. Meanwhile, the government keeps paying the help. Salaries and wages burned through Rs 5,913.18 crore, or 37.75% of total revenue spending. Interest payments spiked to Rs 1,022.23 crore.
Money did flow into state coffers. Revenue receipts reached Rs 16,775.60 crore, helped by a 13.94% jump in the state’s share of Union taxes. The auditor now demands a strict borrowing strategy. They want Manipur to focus on asset creation, fix its liability mess, and force departments and district councils to clear their massive accounting backlogs.
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