Delhi govt not sharing CAG reports in House: LG office

According to a document, the finance minister was requested to forward the reports to the LG for approval. As per the file monitoring system, the files are still with Sisodia’s office

The Delhi government is yet to table three reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the state assembly, despite the government receiving reminders in November from lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, according to documents seen by HT.

Lieutenant Govdernor VK Saxena gave the government reminders regarding the tabling of three CAG repoorts in the state assembly. (ANI)

The CAG reports in question pertain to the utilisation of funds, expenditure on various projects and programmes, and government finances, etc for the financial year 2020-21. The reports were submitted to the Delhi government between June and November last year, but have not yet been tabled in the assembly.

The Delhi government controller of accounts sent a reminder to the office of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, to seek LG’s approval on three audit reports -- the State Finance Audit Report, the Performance Audit on Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi, and the Revenue, Economic, Social and General Sectors and PSUs report. These crucial reports were submitted to the government on June 23, September 27 and November 10 last year, according to the documents.

Article 151 of the Constitution of India mandates that the reports of the CAG relating to the accounts of the state should be submitted to the governor of the state (the LG in the case of Delhi), who should cause them to be laid in the assembly.

According to a document dated December 21, 2022 from principal accounts office (PAC), the finance minister was requested to forward the reports to the LG for approval. As per the file monitoring system, the files are still with Sisodia’s office. HT has seen a copy of the document.

A government official said that on November 29, the LG Secretariat had written to Delhi’s finance department, seeking appropriate action as per law for expeditiously laying the CAG reports before the assembly in the next session (referring to the ongoing session).

An official said that earlier, the AAP government had kept 10 reports of the CAG pending and not tabled them before the assembly for four years in a row. “The 10 CAG reports of the year 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 were tabled in the assembly in July 2020 after LG Saxena took over and pushed for it,” said the official.