Last 2 Years Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) is demanding 3 new Powers but Congress Government is not ready to give those powers

Last 2 Years Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) is
demanding 3 new Powers but Congress Government is not ready to give those powers

We have seen that Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India is working honestly and their reports are always finding new corruption in which Indian tax payers money is wasted by government.

2G scam – Government took the action after CAG report.


Now CAG's leaked draft saying Reliance Industries was shown “undue favors” in its KG basin operations. From year 2006 CAG started to prepare this report.
Now you can think why so many years to prepare the report?
One of the reason companies do not share documents easily.
Government servants do not share information and documents easily.

Last 2 years Comptroller and Auditor-General CAG is writing to the Finance Ministry to change the 1971 Audit Act.
But government is not ready or government has no time, I do not know why government is giving and changing the audit act as demanded by CAG.

In 2010 the CAG sent proposals for amendments to three broad areas but still government of India servants have not responded , have not taken any action.

Following are 3 demands of CAG, CAG wants following 3 new powers which government is not giving to CAG or still thinking and going slow on it.

1. Speed at which government departments reply to audit report questions. There is no time limit that in how much time, within how much period government department should respond and reply to the questions of CAG.Now CAG is demanding fix a deadline or time period in which government department must answer the questions ask by CAG like 30 days of period. Right to information act says that within 30 days information should be given same type of power CAG wants now that fix a time limit in which government department must answer it.

2. Second demand is that once the report is prepared by CAG and given to Government it must be tabled in parliament compulsorily and immediately without wasting time. The CAG wants the law to specify that governments must immediately table reports submitted while the legislature is in session, or within the first week of the next session, if submitted in between. Now what happens is that if CAG report is not good for Government then government delays the tabling of report in parliament. The CAG's audit of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was not tabled in Parliament for a year. Maharashtra government held on to a report for 18 months because it contained adverse comments on Vilasrao Deshmukh, tabling it only when the CAG threatened to have it released through the Governor.

3. Third power demanded by CAG is that to power to audit public-private partnerships and joint ventures, and new types of expenditure that were not included when the law was first framed. Example - routing of money for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the National Rural Health Mission and the MNREGA through panchayati raj institutions and non-governmental organisations. Media has reported that this way each year more than Rs 80,000 Crore is spent and which is beyond the reach of the CAG's regular audits. Now you can imagine as there is no audit by CAG how much money is wasted and we Indian tax payers never know what exactly is happening with this money, is it utilized properly?

After 2010 regarding this CAG wrote to government weekly but still government is thinking to give CAG these powers or not to give CAG these powers.

Best solution is CAG should directly release the report to Indian citizens and sent the copies to government and Supreme Court of India.

If government officers are not giving information give the power to CAG to visit the officer and get the Xerox of all the documents or file a police complaint against that officer.

Bring all the money matters Under CAG with one simple amendment which will automatically bring new expenses always under CAG.

Suggested Reading –

Know about CAG - Comptroller and Auditor General of India

http://realityviews.blogspot.com/2009/06/know-about-cag-comptroller-and-auditor.html

Reality views by sm-
Monday, June 27, 2011

Keyword Tag – CAG Power CAG Audit