Kohima: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India uncovered a web of financial and procedural rot across Nagaland government departments. The 2024 report, presented to the Legislative Assembly on September 3, 2026, details unauthorized fund diversions, fraudulent payments, and the illegal construction of state assets on private property.
Audit findings highlight severe failures in the Jal Jeevan Mission. Officials bypassed tenders to award a supply contract, sparking an avoidable Rs.288.12 crore expenditure. District laboratories lack essential testing equipment, and auditors labeled Rs.21.57 crore in tap connection claims as entirely fictitious. The report warns that the department released funds despite clear evidence that services never reached households.
The Nagaland Police department also faced scrutiny. The Director General of Police bypassed standard tender processes to buy commercial LPG, relying on an unlicensed supplier. This decision inflated costs by Rs.3.46 crore. The auditor noted that the vendor was a consumer, not a distributor. Auditors stated: "The supplier was a 'Consumer' rather than an authorised LPG 'Distributor' under the applicable regulations."
Misappropriation persists in infrastructure projects. The Phek district administration saw Rs.17.56 lakh in land acquisition funds withdrawn in cash without supporting vouchers. In Peren, the Horticulture department built a botanical garden on private land without securing ownership rights. Similar land-use violations plagued the Municipal Affairs department, where a Rs.13.26 crore women's hostel remains mostly empty on private property.
Elsewhere, the Planning and Transformation department authorized the use of Rs.6.14 crore in scheme funds to build hostels inside a private school compound. Financial controls failed at the Treasury level as well, where system oversights led to Rs.87.73 lakh in fraudulent pay-bill claims across nine departments. The Transport department’s bus station project in Dimapur has stalled for six years, burning through Rs.10.61 crore with little to show for the cost.
The audit flagged 10,000-plus discrepancies, including 6,292 learner’s licenses issued without testing in the Motor Vehicles department and major shortfalls in Anganwadi nutrition supplies. CAG investigators now demand immediate recovery of misspent funds and full investigations into the officials responsible for these systemic lapses.
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