NEW DELHI, Nov 4 � In a significant development, the Centre has ordered Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) financial audit in Assam and 11 other States. Expenditures amounting to Rs 100,000 crore on social sectors schemes would be under scrutiny.
All expenditure on the schemes of the Ministry of Rural Development and Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation would be open to audit by the CAG both in the Centre and States. This would be irrespective of the implementing agency.
The CAG may conduct not only financial audit and compliance audit but also performance audit. To begin with, performance audits of MGNREGA in 12 States would be taken up. These States include Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, official sources said.
The audit of the all schemes of the Ministries of Rural Development and Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation would be entrusted to Accountants General (AG) in different States, so as to ensure that a focused and comprehensive audit is carried out, said sources.
The AG offices would be so nominated and staffed that they possess the knowledge and expertise to conduct an effective audit and would cover all States on a cluster basis, said sources.
Sources said following extensive consultations and the Rural Development and Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation ministries have agreed on adopting an action plan to enhance accountability in public expenditure incurred by the Central Government on different schemes of the two ministries amounting to about Rs 100,000 crore.
The two Central Ministries have taken the initiatives to prepare a common accounting format for all rural development schemes in consultation with the CAG, which would lend itself not to internal check and monitoring by the two ministries but also audit by the CAG and eventually to Parliament.
A committee is being set up under the chairmanship of additional secretary and financial advisor Arvind Mayaram to examine modifications needed in already existing accounting procedure of DRDAs, suggest principles and policies of accounting at the level of the implementing agency, identify appropriate standards for financial reporting and disclosure including suggest changes in present format of utilization certificates. The committee will submit its report in four months times.
The Minister, who was in Assam late last month had disclosed his plans to hand over audit of flagship programmes to CAG. Stating that he has had three rounds of discussions with CAG, Ramesh had announced that all expenditures of Central Government incurred on rural development schemes would be subjected to CAG audit in all States.
