SHILLONG, June 24 � The Meghalaya Assembly Secretariat will have its Audit department reworked after annual reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General highlighted financial irregularities.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today met the Speaker Charles Pyngrope and Deputy Speaker, Sanbor Shullai at the Assembly Secretariat and stated there must be �complete clarity� on the budgeting process of the Assembly Secretariat.
�There is lack of clarity of the present budgeting in the Meghalaya Assembly Secretariat. New rules will be formulated similar to the Lok Sabha Secretariat for the audit process,� Sangma said.
While stressing on clarity, Sangma, however, added that the Secretariat�s autonomous way of functioning would not be disturbed.
For the past few years, the CAG reports have unearthed financial irregularities in the secretariat. The legislators at the receiving end of the reports have blamed the Secretariat for the financial bungling.
Legislators, including Pyngrope, went on a European junket and submitted �fake and inflated bills� and got reimbursements. They later claimed ignorance about the various rules and procedures and said they acted on the advice of the Assembly Secretariat.
Former Speaker of the Assembly MM Dangoo is accused of not returning official items worth crores of rupees after he vacated the office in 2008 and also carrying out unauthorised construction from the Assembly�s budget provisions.
Although the Public Accounts Committee is probing these allegations of financial irregularities of the Assembly Secretariat, the inquiry is far from over.
In fact, Pyngrope, too, has blamed the officials of the Secretariat for not carrying on with their responsibilities diligently and therefore the financial mess in the secretariat.
Meanwhile, Sangma said the Assembly Secretary is additionally burdened by looking after the finance and so there has to be �fresh delegation of financial powers.�
He further informed that the Government was trying to identify funds to start construction of the new Assembly building at Taragarh.
