New Delhi: The working of the country’s top most audit body expected to exercise financial oversight on government departments and ministries, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, is again in the spotlight.
The Wire has accessed a copy of an order issued by the Accountant General (Accounts And Entitlements) – I, Maharashtra, Mumbai (Pradhan Mahalekhakar Ka Karyalay (Lekhapariksha) -1, Maharashtra, Mumbai) dated October 9 that stated that all field audit work be “paused with immediate effect”.
The order from Maharashtra states: “In view of headquarters mail dated 26.09.2023, comprehensive, detailed presentation on Performance audits (PA) and State specific compliance audits (SCCA)/thematic audits (TA) taken up in Annual audit plan 2023-24 has been forwarded to Headquarters as directed by them. Pending further clarity in this regard, it is directed that all field audit work related to PAs, SCCAs/TAs may be paused with immediate effect till further orders.”
But while responding to queries from The Wire, the CAG office denied any such order from the headquarters to the states, and said that “no order has been issued by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, pausing field audit work”.
“..It is categorically asserted that no order has been issued by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, pausing field audit work,” the email response said on October 16.
“Annual audit plans are prepared by functional verticals and field offices. After due consideration and review, these are approved by this office, for implementation. Audit is thereafter undertaken by the field audit offices as per the plan, and human resources deployed suitably in accordance with operational prioritization. Field audit parties across the country are presently deployed as usual,” it added.
The Wire has also reached out to the Accountant General (Accounts And Entitlements) – I, Maharashtra, Mumbai (Pradhan Mahalekhakar Ka Karyalay (Lekhapariksha) -1, Maharashtra, Mumbai office via email but has not received a response yet.
According to its website, the Accountant General, (A&E)-I, Maharashtra, Mumbai, functions under the Comptroller and Auditor General, who heads the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
In a significant news report datelined Mumbai, and titled, CAG withdraws proposal to halt audits in union ministries, Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam daily, reports today that “The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has withdrawn the proposal to stop the audits related to various ministries and departments under the central government. A decision in this regard was taken amid an online meeting of senior officers on Tuesday”.
The Wire is unable to independently confirm if CAG has withdrawn its proposal “to halt audits in union ministries”.
What is a ‘performance audit’?
According to the CAG website, a performance audit “focuses on whether interventions, programmes and institutions are performing in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and whether there is room for improvement. Performance is examined against suitable criteria and the causes of deviations from those criteria or other problems are analysed. The aim is to answer key audit questions and to provide recommendations for improvement.”
The website also states that a compliance audit “focuses on whether a particular subject matter is in compliance with the criteria. Compliance auditing is performed by assessing whether activities, financial transactions and information are, in all material aspects, in compliance with the applicable authorities which include the Constitution, Acts, Laws, rules and regulations, budgetary resolutions, policy, contracts, agreements, established codes, sanctions, supply orders, agreed terms or the general principles governing sound public sector financial management and the conduct of public officials.”
Thematic audits refer to audits which may have both compliance and performance audit objectives.
CAG reports have been of special interest after the UPA government came under fire for the “2G” and “coal block allocation scam” – which were revealed when Vinod Rai was the CAG, and which had serious consequences on the UPA’s credibility.
Twelve key CAG reports
Twelve key audit reports were presented in parliament during the monsoon session that ended on August 11.
These 12 CAG reports revealed corruption and irregularities in the functioning of several Union government ministries and departments.
This included the CAG reports on the irregularities in Ayushman Bharat and the Dwarka Expressway project that were in particular picked up by the opposition parties – including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – who accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of presiding over “scams”, demanding accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Last week The Wire reported that in the first week of October, there were “verbal orders” passed in the CAG office in New Delhi to “stop all field work”. Officers then asked for written orders, in order to be able to pass them on.
This field work is vital for the auditing of ministries and departments – that eventually results in reports put out by the country’s official audit body and helps in establishing accountability and checks on government spending and finances.
In addition, The Wire also reported that CAG Girish Chandra Murmu is said to be “not signing any report” that necessarily needs to bear his signature, along with that of the officer-in-charge, invariably an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS).
In a press release on October 13, the CAG office “rejected” the report.
Calling itself the Supreme Audit Institution of India (SAI), it said CAG “is committed to fulfilling its mandate of ensuring transparency and accountability in governance; and is confident of surpassing previous years’ output.”
“This would not be possible if there was even the slightest truth in the alleged contention that field audit has been suspended. Rest assured, field audit continues full force, suitably buttressed by data analytics and digital audit.”
The Wire had also reported that the verbal orders came close on the heels of the transfers of three officers who were in charge of audit reports that exposed corruption in the Dwarka Expressway project and Ayushman Bharat. A third officer who had initiated the audit of the Ayushman Bharat report was also transferred.
Following The Wire’s report, opposition parties including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) have accused the BJP government of “corruption” and intimidation.
The CAG’s October 13 press release had also refuted that the transfers had anything to do with the audit reports.
“To set the record straight, matters of transfer and postings are a matter of administrative convenience and to read ulterior motives into these is highly presumptuous,” it had said in the same press release.