More than 50 objections were flagged during a meeting conducted between officials of the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) and the Principal Accountant General (Audit) department, Punjab.
During the meeting, serious concerns were raised over the failure of various wings to provide required information and records. Maximum irregularities were flagged in the accounts branch, where the audit pointed out that cash books in several zones were either not updated or contained incorrect entries.
The audit team highlighted that several departments had not submitted replies to pending audit objections despite repeated communications, leading to delays in compliance and raising questions over record management.
During the meeting, the audit department presented multiple audit paragraphs related to different branches, including building branch, accounts branch, law branch, light branch, health branch, pension branch and O&M wing. Officials were informed that incomplete records, missing documents and delayed responses were obstructing audit verification and could lead to financial and administrative irregularities.
In the accounts branch, the audit highlighted that dishonoured cheque entries worth lakhs of rupees were not properly recorded, which could lead to serious financial discrepancies. The department has been asked to update financial records and submit clarification on all pending audit observations.
The building branch came under scrutiny after the audit team flagged missing file pages and incomplete documentation related to approvals and building records. The audit observed that original copies of certain files were not traceable, which raised concerns about transparency and accountability. The department was directed to locate the original record and identify officials responsible for the lapse.
{{/usCountry}}The building branch came under scrutiny after the audit team flagged missing file pages and incomplete documentation related to approvals and building records. The audit observed that original copies of certain files were not traceable, which raised concerns about transparency and accountability. The department was directed to locate the original record and identify officials responsible for the lapse.
{{/usCountry}}The audit department also highlighted serious lapses in the law branch. It pointed out that in certain court cases, the corporation suffered financial losses due to failure in maintaining proper legal documentation and delayed filing of responses. In one case, the civic body reportedly faced a loss of over ₹14 lakh due to negligence in handling legal proceedings. The audit team instructed officials to fix responsibility and submit action taken reports.
In the pension and gratuity payments, the audit team observed that delayed payments to employees resulted in additional interest liability, causing financial loss to the MC. Officials were directed to conduct internal verification and fix accountability for delays in releasing payments.
The light branch was also questioned over electricity billing and payments. The audit flagged instances where electricity bills were cleared without proper meter verification, leading to excess payments. The branch has been asked to reconcile billing records with the power utility and take steps to recover excess payments.
Similarly, the audit team sought clarification from the health and O&M wings regarding approvals for outsourced staff, medical expenditure and maintenance works. Officials were told to submit complete records and approvals related to these expenditures.
During the meeting, the audit department stressed the need for strict record maintenance and timely submission of replies to audit paragraphs. MC officials assured that all concerned branches would be directed to provide pending information and compliance reports within the stipulated timeframe. An MC official requesting anonymity stated that the audit team has directed to submit all the replies in two days.