Nagaland govt’s response to audit observations lacking

Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 7  

The Nagaland State Government’s response to recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been found lacking, as seen with a large pendency of Inspection Reports.  

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Report for the year ending March 31, 2016, which was released earlier this year, recommended that the Nagaland State Government needs to look into this matter of pendency of Inspection Reports.  

The CAG said that the large pendency indicates the “absence of adequate action to rectify the defects, omissions and irregularities pointed out through Inspection Reports by the Heads of offices and Heads of Departments.”  

The Nagaland State Government, it advised, should ensure proper response to audit observations. “Action may be taken against the officials who fail to send replies to Inspection Reports/paragraphs as per prescribed time schedule and the losses/outstanding advances/overpayments may be recovered in a time bound manner,” the CAG added.  

The Accountants General (AG), Nagaland conducts periodical inspection of the state government departments to test check the transactions and verify maintenance of important accounts and other records as prescribed under the rules and procedures.  

These inspections are followed up with the Inspection Reports (IRs) incorporating irregularities detected during the inspection and not settled on the spot, which are issued to the Heads of Offices inspected with copies to the higher authorities for taking prompt corrective action.  

The Heads of Offices and the government are required to promptly comply with the observations contained in the IRs, rectify the defects and omissions, and report compliance through initial reply to the AG (Audit) within one month from the date of issue of the IRs. Meanwhile, serious irregularities are reported to the Heads of Departments and the government.  

For the time period from 2011-12 to 2016-16, the CAG detected that there were 1000 pending IRs pertaining to Civil (Expenditure audit including that of Works, Forest and Autonomous Bodies); 75 pending IRs pertaining to Revenue (Audit of Revenue Departments); and 18 pending IRs pertaining to Commercial (Audit of Public Sector Undertakings).  

Meanwhile, as of December 2016, the CAG found that out of 1423 recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), made between 1990-91 and 2015-16, only 880 Action Taken Notes (ATNs) in respect of the recommendations had been submitted to the PAC and discussed.  

It may be noted that the Finance Department issued instructions to all departments to submit ATNs on various suggestions, observations and recommendations made by the PAC for their consideration within 15 days of presentation of the PAC reports to the Legislature.  

The PAC reports/recommendations are the principle medium by which the Legislature enforces financial accountability of the Executives to the Legislature. The CAG termed it appropriate that the legislature elicits timely response from the departments in the form of ATNs.  

The CAG informed that the State Level Audit and Accounts Committee had been formed at the government level to monitor the follow up action on audit related matter. It was formed in June 2008, at the state level under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, to monitor the response and corrective action on the findings reported by the audit, to review and oversee the working of Departmental Audit and Accounts Committee and also to hold meetings once in 6 months.  

Further, in order to expedite the settlement of the outstanding audit observations contained in the previously mentioned IRs, departmental audit committees have been constituted by the government. These committees are chaired by the Secretaries of the concerned administrative departments and the meetings are attended by the concerned officers of the state government and officers from the office of the Accountant General (Audit).  

During 2015-16, the CAG informed that no State Level Audit and Accounts Committee meeting was convened. Similarly for the same year, no audit committee meeting was convened to clear the outstanding observations.