Gaurav Gogoi flags underutilisation of Union disaster funds, targets Assam government

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on August 16, alleged that the Union and Assam governments have failed to effectively utilise disaster funds, citing figures from a recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.

In a post on X, Gogoi said the Assam government had "repeatedly failed" to use disaster funds effectively and claimed that the latest CAG findings showed that the problem extended to the Union government.

Citing the figures, he said the Union government sanctioned Rs 11,474 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in 2024-25, but only Rs 5,356 crore was transferred to States, leaving Rs 6,118 crore unspent.

He further claimed that nearly 75% of the National Disaster Mitigation Fund and more than 83% of the special assistance provided to States also remained unutilised.

Gogoi said the figures came against the backdrop of the CAG's findings that significant disaster funds in Assam remained unutilised as of March 2025.

He criticised the governments over what he described as a failure to ensure that disaster funds reached people when they needed them, contrasting the situation with the slogan of "Maximum Governance, Minimum Government".

"The reality is a double-engine government unable to ensure that disaster funds reach people when they need them most," he said.

His remarks come amid Assam's continuing efforts to deal with the impact of this year's floods, which have affected several districts and caused more than 100 deaths.