TTC Marak, firm under scanner
SHILLONG: The Comptroller and Accountant General (CAG) has unearthed arbitrary appointment of consultant in the State Medicinal Plant Board.
The CAG report which was tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday revealed that the Guwahati-based consultant (Vista Agritech Private Limited, VACL) was appointed in August 2010 on a pick and choose basis by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), TTC Marak of the SMPB without observing any tender procedures of the Government, such as invitation of tender & proper evaluation of the bids after consideration of qualification, past experience, competitiveness of the consultancy fees and related issues.
According to the report, the appointment of consultant was not even approved by the governing body of the Board.
It was also observed that the then CEO himself had executed an agreement with VAPL in August 2010 by falsely mentioning that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was executed with VAPL in May 2009 for a period of five years. However, no such MoU with VAPL was executed in May 2009.
The report stated that the agreement was silent on the procedures to be followed before releasing the project payments to the consultant and no payment schedules were prescribed in the agreement.
In the absence of this essential provision of the agreement, the genuineness of the project payments released by the CEO to the consultant amounting to Rs 2.85 crore could not be vouchsafed in audit as could be observed from the irregularities in disbursement of payments.
The report said that the Government accepted the anomaly in the audit observation in September last.
The CAG also observed irregularities in disbursement of payment to the consultant.
The report said that the CEO did not adhere to the prescribed Rules & Regulations of the Board in regard to disbursement of payments by issue of cheques as Rule 15(k) of the Rules and Regulations of the Meghalaya State Medicinal Plants Board as notified by the Government of Meghalaya, Forest & Environment Department on 24 August 2006 stipulates that the CEO shall operate bank account(s) for and on behalf of the society subject to the condition that cheques for amounts above Rs 1 lakh should be jointly signed by the CEO and the Chairman of the Board.
However, in total disregard to the Regulation of the Board, the CEO released payment of Rs 2.36 crore to VAPL by issuing 23 cheques valuing above Rs 1 lakh without obtaining the signature of the Chairman of the Board.
The matter regarding issue of cheques above Rs 1 lakh by the CEO without obtaining signature of the Chairman was also discussed in the review meeting of the MSMPB held on July 9, 2010 and it was decided that the CEO should submit a comprehensive report in this regard in the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Board for consideration and further direction. However, no such report was submitted by the CEO in the subsequent meeting. On this being pointed out by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (one of the members of the Governing Body) on July 22, 2010, the CEO stated that he had not issued any cheque beyond Rs 1 lakh since July 9, 2010.
Audit, however, noticed that the CEO had subsequently (March 2011 to April 2011) withdrawn Rs 0.22 crore through nine cheques valuing above Rs 1 lakh.
The other malafide transactions made by the CEO are splitting the cheque amount within Rs 1.00 lakh to avoid the requirement of joint signature of the Chairman even though the payments released in single day was ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Irregular withdrawal of Government money through 28 self drawal cheques
In a single day (30 October, 2009), the then CEO had withdrawn money from Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank (MCAB) through self drawal cheque and shown as payment made to VAPL although the account maintained at MCAB was a joint account.
It was also observed that updated receipts of the cheques amounting to Rs 2.03 crore only were available which indicated towards the possibility of these receipts being issued after the irregularity surfaced. Moreover, there was system defect at bank level since it did not ensure that the cheques amounting Rs 1,00,000 and above should have joint signature of CEO & the Chairman which indicated collusion at the bank level.
“Furthermore since self-cheques cannot be used for making payments, misappropriation cannot be ruled out. The Government stated that an FIR had been lodged in this regard, however, no comments were given either on the reasons responsible for the irregularity or of departmental action taken,” the CAG report stated.
Meanwhile, physical verifications conducted by audit indicated fraudulent financial transactions relating to development of plantations as no plantation existed on sites, where this had been shown by VAPL to have been planted.
The CAG report said that in line with CEO a similar FIR was necessary against VAPL.
The CAG recommend that the then CEO and the consultant should be held accountable by initiating disciplinary/criminal proceedings for committing fraudulent financial transactions and misappropriation of government money.
“The unspent as well as unaccounted money should be recovered from the consultant and the CEO apart from initiating criminal proceedings,” the CAG recommended.