CAG report flags Haryana govt’s non response to pending audit paras, financial loss

Chandigarh: Whether it was Nayab Saini-or Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP govt in the state for the past 10 years, or successive govts led by former CMs Bhupinder Hooda, Om Parkash Chautala and Bansi Lal, one thing was common among them all: they were not responsive to the audit paras flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) year after year. This was revealed during an audit report submitted on Friday.Interestingly, besides suggesting a loss worth over Rs 500 crore from various departments and public undertakings, the CAG report categorically flagged the pendency of a whopping 24,242 audit paras from 8,049 inspection reports submitted to the govt. The report suggested that a total of 13,229 out of 24,242 paras were pending before the year 2016-17. This included 2 years of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP govt, which came to power in 2014. The details categorically suggested that even after a change of guard, the state system did not change.
According to the report, after periodical inspection of the govt departments/PSUs, the Principal Accountant General (Audit) issues the Inspection Reports (IRs) to the heads of the offices audited, with copies to the next higher authority/management. The executive authorities/managements are expected to promptly rectify the defects and omissions pointed out, and report compliance to the Principal Accountant General (Audit) within 4 weeks. Half-yearly reports of Inspection Reports (IRs) pending for more than 6 months are also sent to the concerned administrative secretaries of the departments to facilitate monitoring and compliance of the audit observations in the pending IRs. "A total of 24,242 paragraphs pertaining to 8,049 IRs were outstanding as of March 31, 2023, against various auditee units pertaining to different departments, Public Sector Undertakings and autonomous bodies in the state," the report read, putting a question mark on claims of good governance.Financial loss of Rs 529crThis report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) highlighted a financial loss of Rs 529 crore from various departments and public sector units on account of short receipts or loss to the state exchequer during the year 2022-23. All this came out during the study of matters arising out of the Compliance Audit of govt departments, autonomous bodies, audit of receipts and expenditure of major revenue-earning departments under the Revenue Sector, and Public Sector Undertakings of the govt of Haryana. The report contained 11 chapters, including 1 on a subject-specific Compliance Audit on "Implementation of Smart City Mission in Haryana", and 25 paragraphs. The audit paras highlighted included those of the Karnal Smart City Mission, Orbital Rail Corridor, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Haryana Tourism Corporation, and Haryana Kaushal Vikas Nigam, etc, as well as electricity distribution companies and the Forest Department, etc. MSID: 128645828 413 |