SHILLONG, Oct 19: District Council Affairs Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui said the delay in the completion of auditing of accounts in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) was due to multiple reasons.
He told reporters on Tuesday that the functioning of offices and the movement of officers had been hampered for a long time by the pandemic.
The exercise is being carried out by the Directorate of Local Fund Audit (DLFA). Rymbui is hopeful that it will soon submit the preliminary report to the government, if not the final report.
He pointed out that the DLFA has not been given any deadline to complete the auditing. He justified the state government’s decision to conduct the exercise, stating that Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma had wanted to dig deep into the matter.
He denied allegations that the government has adopted a delaying tactic. He said it is the government’s duty to give its best to the people.
On the demand for a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds, he said people should have faith in institutions such as the DLFA and the Comptroller and Auditor General.
“If we don’t trust these organisations, then what is their use?” he asked.
The minister said the problem with the present society is that it begins judging before probing.
The auditing of accounts in the GHADC, which started on November 10 last year and was followed by a break in December on account of holidays, could not be carried out during January and February due to agitation by the employees of the council. Similarly, the auditing in the JHADC was affected by the COVID-induced lockdown.
The auditing for the GHADC and the JHADC is headed by the DLFA’s Assistant Directors of Tura and Shillong respectively.
The auditors have been mandated to scrutinise the accounts of the past decade and not just Rs 264 crore which the Centre had sanctioned for infrastructure development. The auditing will also cover the period of previous Congress regime.
The government had ordered the auditing following pressure from the BJP which alleged misuse of central special grants in both councils.