Author: Subrata Nagchoudhury &
Navika Kumar
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: May 12, 2005
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=70205
CAG on Bengal: no accounts means
lack of accountability, irregularities going undetected
On the issue of the Centaur hotel
disinvestment, the CPM swears by the CAG's report, saying it should be
the basis for a government probe into the sale of the hotel. But in West
Bengal, the CPM's home turf, their own governments have been consigning
to the bin reports by the same CAG, year after year.
Successive Left Front governments,
says the CAG, are guilty of ignoring a mandatory Constitutional requirement:
they have not been tabling audited accounts of government commercial enterprises,
companies, statutory corporations. In some cases, for as many as 19 years.
The CAG's last report, placed before
the West Bengal state legislature on August 4, 2004, pointed out that accounts
of 37 ''working'' government companies had arrears for periods ranging
from one year to nine years as of September 30, 2003.
Accounts of seven ''non-working''
government companies (in the queue for liquidation, closure or merger)
had arrears for periods ranging from one year to 19 years.
The same CAG report pointed out
that as many as 35 special audit reports (SARs), relating to eight state
government corporations, had not been placed before the state assembly
for periods ranging from one year to 16 years:
* SARs of West Bengal Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Finance Corporation not tabled
for 16 years
* SARs of West Bengal State Warehousing
Corporation for six years
* SARs of West Bengal Industrial
Infrastructure Development Corporation for three years
* SARs of Calcutta State Transport
Corporation for three years
* SARs of North Bengal State Transport
Corporation for three years
There are also instances of accounts
that have been readied but not brought before the assembly. For example,
the West Bengal Commission for Women has not tabled its report for the
last four-five years though the CAG has completed scrutiny and the accounts
finalised.
Government departments running special
schemes also have a huge backlog:
* Sisal Plantation Scheme run by
the state's agriculture department has not submitted accounts to the CAG
since 1955-56, the year of the scheme's inception
* The Cottage and Small Scale Industries
did not submit accounts of the government sales emporia in Kolkata and
Howrah for the period 1951-52 to 1962-63 and again from 1969-70 to 1980-81.
In September, 1980 the emporia merged with another government company.
Hence, no accounts submitted
* The Urban Development department
has not prepared accounts of the Kalyani township (Kanchrapara Area Development
Scheme) since its inception in 1975-76
* Even the showcase Land and Land
Reforms department has not prepared accounts of the haats under government
management since 1982-83
Two years ago, in a report on the
West Bengal government, the CAG said: ''Lack of accountability arising
out of the failure to prepare accounts by department run units for years
on end is a matter of serious concern as large amount of public funds are
involved, coupled with the possibility of serious irregularities remaining
undetected for long periods.''
''During 2000-01, out of Rs 23,426
crore of revenue and capital expenditure, expenditure of Rs 12,115 crore
(52 per cent) was not reconciled by various departments including Home,
labour, refugee, relief and rehabilitation and school education departments.''
There is no record of any action
against any public servant or politician for the lapses in West Bengal
so far.
Says Subrata Mukherjee, chairman
of the Public Accounts Committee of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly:
''It is part of a deliberate and conscious strategy of the CPM in the Left
Front government not to table CAG reports on time. It is a violation of
the Constitutional provision. Attempts to get these tabled in the assembly
on time and have a discussion on financial irregularities have always been
frustrated by the CPM.''
CPM's Nirupam Sen, the seniormost
cabinet minister in West Bengal, admits to a ''serious backlog.''
''In most cases, there are adverse
comments by the CAG. As far as my Department of Public Enterprises is concerned,
I have asked my officers to update accounts. This is also necessary for
companies which are being restructured and need financial aid,'' Sen said.
