Urban Mirror Correspondent
New Delhi, September 15: The Lok Gathbandhan Party today criticised the NDA government for large-scale financial irregularities in 19 union ministries worth Rs 1179. 16 crore detected by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its latest report. The LGP said CAG’s indictment in 78 cases of financial irregularities reflected lack of honesty and transparency in the functioning of the NDA government. The LGP said there is need of an honest and transparent investigation into the negligence and corruption in the system.
The spokesman of the party said here on Saturday that the report has indicated irregularities covering 19 Ministries/Departments and Autonomous Bodies/Corporation under their administrative control relating to loss of non-tax revenues, non-recovery of dues, lapses in financial management, non-adherence to scheme guidelines/rules, idling of equipment, deficiencies in project management, mistakes in internal control, irregularities in pay and staff entitlements, avoidable payments etc.
The spokesman said the CAG has pointed out that NDA Government is facing a revenue loss of Rs 1179 crore as the 19 ministries have failed to follow the rules and guidelines laid out for them or indulged in unnecessary expenditures as discovered after analysing all the financial documents until March 2017. The spokesman said the Ministry of Human Resource and Development was found to have the most irregularities, followed by Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The spokesman said that 31 projects under the HRD Ministry involving payment of a grant of Rs 26 crore remained incomplete even after long periods beyond the stipulated completion while two hostels created at the cost of Rs 2.3 crore remained unutilised for more than three years. Similarly the Ministry of External Affairs was found with a short revenue collection of Rs 74 crore due to many Missions/Posts in some countries not following the Ministry’s own rules and guidelines relating to the levying or revision of visa. Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Ministry of Shipping were found to have failed at collecting dues amounting to Rs 89 crore, the spokesman said and added that CAG report has exposed NDA government’s claim of probity in public life.
