SHILLONG, June 7: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has blown the lid off yet another case of corruption in Meghalaya, this time involving the three autonomous district councils.
Training its gun on the three ADCs, the CAG said the councils do not prepare accounts and maintain records of expenditure on time which consequently delays implementation of corrective measures recommended by the auditors based on the findings of the audit and mismanagement, misappropriation, wasteful expenditure etc., continue unchecked for years.
The non-maintenance of accounts is an indication of financial mismanagement and points towards embezzlement of funds in the three ADCs, it said.
The CAG also revealed that the deficiencies were communicated to Chief Secretary RV Suchiang on March 17, 2022, the chief executive members of the respective Councils on March 23, 2022 and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on March 30, but no action was taken by any of the authorities.
After waiting for two months, the CAG has now written to Governor Satya Pal Malik, explaining the failure of the three ADCs in the state to prepare their accounts on time and seeking his intervention into the anomalies.
In a letter addressed to the Governor on June 1, a copy of which is available with The Shillong Times, the CAG said as many as ten accounts — two of KHADC, three of JHADC and five of the GHADC are still pending for submission as on December 31, 2021.
The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has not submitted accounts from 2016-17 to 2020-21, the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council has not submitted accounts from 2018-19 to 2020-21 while the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council is yet to submit the accounts for 2019-20 and 2020-21.
The letter to the Governor mentions that as per Para 7(3) of the Sixth Schedule, the accounts of these ADCs are to be maintained in the format prescribed which are then audited by the CAG teams.
“The format of maintenance of the accounts has already been prescribed and my reports on the same are being submitted. This effectively has constrained the audit function entrusted to us and also rendered the functioning of these ADCs opaque,” the CAG wrote in the letter.
The CAG further observed that inadequate maintenance of basic records i.e., cashbook, vouchers, registers, ledgers etc., are the major concerns, projects remaining incomplete entail wasteful expenditure and deprives beneficiaries of intended benefits of government welfare initiatives have been highlighted in the audit several times.
“The audit reports are either not tabled or tabled belatedly and are not discussed by the Councils; hence the infractions escape the desired scrutiny and executive accountability,” the CAG said, while exhorting the Governor to take steps to ensure that an oversight mechanism is evolved to provide reasonable assurance on governance to the stakeholders on the same lines as in the state government.
The CAG also urged the Governor to issue suitable directions to the concerned authorities to ensure timely and correct preparation of accounts as well as to establish an oversight mechanism like the Public Accounts Committee in State Legislature to discuss and monitor action taken on the audit reports.
Prior to this, Additional Deputy CAG, Smita S Chaudhuri had brought the discrepancies to the notice of the CM.
In her letter to the CM dated March 30, 2022, Chaudhuri said the accounts of the three ADCs are to be maintained in the format prescribed by the CAG who also audits the same and accordingly, a separate audit report is prepared and forwarded to the Governor for tabling in the Council.
Pointing out that certain issues need attention at the highest level, she said that all the ADCs do not prepare accounts on time.
“A consequence of this delay is that any corrective measures, based on the findings of the audit, take years to be put in place and mismanagement, misappropriation, wasteful expenditure etc. continue unchecked for several years,” she said.
The official had made a special mention about the JHADC which has not maintained cashbook and basic account records from 2009 onwards due to a suspected misappropriation in 2004-05.
“As a result the CAG reports up to 2012-13 have been prepared without proper audit of the accounts. The same is not a healthy practice for the next eight years i.e. up to 2020-21. The steps being taken by JHADC to get the records recreated and accounts prepared, needs to be completed on a priority,” she said.
In her letter to the CM, Chaudhuri had mentioned that the Accountant General, Meghalaya has already apprised the chief executive members of the ADCs and the Chief Secretary of the same in detail.
“I am to request you to take cognisance of the matters enumerated above and consider discussing these issues with the chief executive members of the three ADCs and the chief secretary to sensitise them on these vital issues of transparency, disclosures and proper utilisation of funds. The nodal District Council Affairs department of the state can then take the lead and monitor the progress and the action taken,” she had added.
