After Adhir’s proposal, PAC refuses to study govt’s Covid response

Some of the members were of the view that because the government doesn’t fund these relief funds, PAC cannot and should not examine them, the person cited in the first instance added.

Attempts by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, to get it to study suo motu the government’s response to Covid-19 were not supported by the other members, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The committee met on Friday.

Friday’s meeting of the 22-member PAC was attended by 17 out of 20 members. (ANI)

It is understood that a scrutiny of the government’s response to the pandemic would have also involved going into the details of Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) and the PM CARES Fund, which was set up essentially to deal with the damage inflicted by the pandemic.

Some of the members were of the view that because the government doesn’t fund these relief funds, PAC cannot and should not examine them, the person cited in the first instance added.

News agency PTI reported on Friday that members of the PAC, in which BJP enjoys majority, thwarted Chowdhury’s attempt to have the PM Cares Fund examined, claiming that because it wasn’t funded by government, the committee could not do this.

“It is not that the PAC has never taken up issues suo motu. It has happened in a few instances. But generally it is done when there is consensus. In this case the proposal hardly got any support,” said the person cited above.

“The chairman wanted a few subjects to a be taken up suo motu by the committee. But there was no unanimity or consensus. In fact, there was hardly any support for the proposal.”

In the meeting on Friday, the PAC decided to examine various subjects with special focus being given to the CAG report number 5 of 2017, a performance audit of the Sino-India Border Roads, and CAG report number 13 of 2019, which is on the provisioning and procurement of high altitude-clothing, equipment, ration and housing for soldiers.

Friday’s meeting of the 22-member PAC was attended by 17 out of 20 members. Two seats on the committee are vacant.