Legislators cannot prevent PAC’s scrutiny of CAG reports: Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam chief minister VD Satheesan on Tuesday questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) approach to certain audits, alleging that some findings went beyond its “constitutional purview”, while asserting that legislatures could not use their majority to prevent Public Accounts Committee (PAC) scrutiny of CAG reports.India NewsSpeaking at the Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees (PACs) in Thiruvananthapuram, chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Satheesan cited the CAG’s 2010 audit report on the 2G spectrum allocation and its 2017 report on the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport Project as examples of what he described as “misconceptions in the audit approach.”“The CAG’s audit approach sometimes shifts its manner that defeats the very purpose of the audit. The question is, how Public Accounts Committee (PAC) could approach such audit findings?” he said.“Thus, we should have a serious discussion on the way the PAC could treat those audit findings which happen to be out of the constitutional audit purview, through misconception in the audit approach. I would like to have your attention to the scenario of curtailing the powers of Public Accounts Committee through majority in the House,” Satheesan added.Birla, in his inaugural address, said public funds must be used for approved purposes and with full accountability. “In a democracy, the government operates based on the trust of the people and utilises public resources for the nation’s development. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that public funds are used for approved purposes, in accordance with due process, and with full accountability,” he said.“The examination of matters related to government expenditure, public schemes, the functioning of departments, and administrative processes has a direct bearing on the facilities and services available to citizens. Issues raised by the PAC, such as the operation of Anganwadi centres or the quality of catering services on the railways, serve as examples of this,” Birla added.Referring to the 2G spectrum audit, Satheesan said, “The estimated loss of ₹1.76 lakh crore in the 2G spectrum allocation was not an actual realised loss but a hypothetical, presumptive projection. It extrapolated potential revenue based on later benchmarks such as 3G spectrum auction prices and later 2014 re-auction realisation, rather than actual market conditions in 2008.”He also criticised the CAG’s assessment of the Vizhinjam project as a public sector undertaking (PSU), saying it was a public-private partnership (PPP) with different commercial risk-sharing and financing structures. He argued that the audit methodology failed to account for viability gap funding required by large infrastructure projects that are not financially viable on a standalone basis in their initial years.Satheesan also referred to a January 2021 resolution passed by the then Kerala assembly to exclude the CAG’s audit findings on the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) from PAC scrutiny. He said the move had “disrupted” the normal parliamentary process and described it as an unhealthy practice.“I think no legislature is competent to dismiss the report submitted by the CAG. What is the legislative competency? If you have a majority, you can take any decision. But you are not constitutionally competent to dismiss a CAG report based on your majority on the floor,” he said.He added that such practices defeated the purpose of parliamentary institutions and the principles of accountability. Satheesan also called for a special drive to clear the large number of files pending before PACs, some for more than 20 years.Congress MP and Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament KC Venugopal called for strengthening the committee and proposed that at least one PAC report be discussed in Parliament every year.Venugopal said, “The CAG should increase the number of audits and focus on important government schemes, including Poshan Abhiyaan, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.”He also flagged an imbalance in sectoral audits, saying that while a large number of reports had been brought out on the defence and railway sectors, fewer reports covered health, home affairs, education and external affairs over the past six years.“Even sectors like textiles, food and micro, MSME, all these have great potential to provide employment to our youth and need to be audited with a view to streamline their functioning. There is a saying, ‘justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.