Audit brings out irregularities

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 11. The first performance audit of the People's Plan Campaign, conducted by the State Performance Audit Authority (SPAA), has brought out several irregularities in the utilisation of the Plan funds devolved to the local bodies in the State.

Releasing the report of the SPAA at a press conference here today, the Local Administration Minister, Mr. Cherkalam Abdulla, said a sum of nearly Rs. 49 crores out the funds devolved to the grama panchayats during the last four years was found remaining as idle deposits outside the treasury.

Corruption to the tune of nearly Rs. 2.35 crores had also taken place in the implementation of various schemes by the grama panchayats, according to the report.

The Minister said that, though the system for conducting performance audit was put in place in 1997 itself, the Nayanar Government had ignored to make use of it.

``The performance audit actually began only in January, 2001. The lenient attitude adopted during the first three or four years had cultivated a feeling that anything will be tolerated,'' he said.

He said the Government would be initiating appropriate action against those who were responsible for the irregularities brought out by the performance audit.

The audit also brought out instances of articles bought with the devolved funds gathering dust in many grama panchayats. Nearly Rs. 1 crore had gone down the drain because of this.

The panchayats had spent nearly Rs. 30 lakhs in excess on various schemes, flouting rules. Schemes worth Rs. 52 lakhs, for which money had been drawn in advance by the conveners of the works, were yet to be taken up.

There were also many schemes, on which Rs. 94 lakhs had already been spent, which were remaining incomplete. Some of these schemes had even been abandoned midway.

The Minister said that, during the performance audit, it was found that a majority of the officials had failed to maintain proper records of the funds utilised on the schemes under the People's Plan Campaign.

Government orders on the subject of implementing the programmes had not been observed in quite a large number of cases, he added.

He said two rounds of performance audit had already been completed by now.

The system was being streamlined to ensure that the audit of the performance of the local self-government institutions would be done on a quarterly basis.

As many as 66 teams were now engaged in the audit exercise, under the overall control of the State Performance Audit Officer.

He said that, on an average, Rs. 1,000 crores from the Plan fund was being devolved to the local bodies in the State annually during the last four years.

The Minister said the Government would be shortly promulgating an ordinance to bring down the number of members of the Ombudsman set up to examine complaints of corruption about the implementation of the People's Plan Campaign. The number was to be reduced from seven to one, he said, adding that this was being done to curtail the expenses of the government.

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