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Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Tuesday called for a nationwide special drive to clear long-pending cases before Public Accounts Committees (PACs), warning that delays stretching up to 20 years defeat the purpose of legislative scrutiny and financial accountability.
Addressing the inaugural session of the Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees of Parliament and State Legislatures, Satheesan said that several PACs across the country were sitting on a huge backlog of files, including cases dating back two decades. He stressed that accountability loses its meaning when investigations are not completed in time, as officials found responsible for financial irregularities may have retired or even died by the time the committee concludes. He said, "I do request all of you that so many files, a huge number of files, are pending before the PACs across the country. Even the files which are 20 years old are pending. What is the relevance of the committee then? If we find somebody guilty of financial irregularities, what can we do? He may be retired. He may be no more. What is the result? So we have to dispose. That is my request. There should be a special drive to dispose of all the files." Urging the committees to prioritise the disposal of pending matters, he called for a special nationwide exercise to clear the backlog and ensure that audit observations translate into meaningful accountability. Drawing on his experience as a former Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Kerala Legislature, Satheesan highlighted the state's parliamentary oversight tradition and said that the history of the Public Accounts Committee in Kerala started in 1932 at the Sree Moolam Assembly of the Old Travancore. "Being a former chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of the Kerala Legislature, I am particularly proud to mention that the PAC of the Kerala Legislature has submitted the highest number of reports among the PACs in the country," he said. The Chief Minister also raised concerns over the methodology adopted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) while calculating financial implications and assessing major projects and government decisions. He argued that variations in audit approaches could sometimes undermine the fundamental purpose of auditing and called for greater scrutiny of the methods used to arrive at financial estimates. Chief Minister said, "I wish to draw your attention to the methodology of calculating amounts by the CAG. I have gone through many reports that the CAG's audit approach sometimes shifts its manner, which defeats the very purpose of the audit." "The audit method used by the CAG in its 2010 report on the 2G spectrum allocation faced major criticisms. The headline figure of an estimated loss of 1.76 lakh crore was not an actual realised loss, but a hypothetical presumptive projection," he added. Satheesan further said that the primary audit methodology issues identified in the CAG report on the Vizhinjam International Deep Water Multipurpose Seaport Project revolve around its fundamental approach to evaluating PPP frameworks. The Judicial Commission objected to the CAG bracketing the Vizhinjam Port project under the PSU category. Satheesan also cautioned against attempts to curtail the powers of Public Accounts Committees through the use of a legislative majority. Referring to the Keralam Assembly's January 2021 resolution concerning the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), he said that house had excluded specific CAG audit findings relating to the extra-budgetary borrowing mechanism from the scrutiny of the PAC. Satheesan said that Keralam Legislative Assembly formally excluded the KIIFB audit, an extra-budgetary borrowing mechanism, and KIIFB audit findings from the scrutiny of the Public Accounts Committee through an unusual procedure in January 2021. The Assembly passed a resolution that officially rejected and expunged specific adverse observations of the CAG report, effectively bypassing the standard PAC review mechanism. Once a CAG report is tabled in the House, it is automatically referred to the PAC for detailed scrutiny. However, the Kerala Assembly disrupted this process. No legislature is competent to dismiss a CAG report on the basis of your majority on the floor, he said. Satheesan maintained that the independence and authority of legislative committees must be protected to ensure effective financial oversight and accountability. He cautioned that allowing legislative majorities to bypass established audit scrutiny mechanisms could undermine the institutional role of Public Accounts Committees. (ANI)
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