Constructive critique is our role, says CAG
NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu, says the government auditor is adopting a policy of “constructive criticism” so that it can help the Centre and states in enhancing the quality of public services and improve management of national assets.
“Purpose of the CAG audit is to point out shortcomings in execution of schemes so that the delivery mechanism could be improved further,” Murmu said. “Our approach is constructive criticism. We also recommend how the system could be improved and made efficient because we are also expected to contribute in national development.”
This is increasingly evident in the audit approach of CAG officials, who are now open to first understanding the technical nuances of specific sectors rather than jumping to conclusions that often create needless controversy, officials aware of the development said on condition of anonymity.
CAG reports in the past have been questioned by critics, for instance its estimate that the 2007-2008 allocation of 2G specwere trum had caused a notional loss to the exchequer of ₹1.76 lakh crore, and that the allotment of coal blocks had caused a similar loss of ₹1.86 lakh crore. Allegations of irregularities in the allotment of spectrum and coal blocks hurt the then ruling Congress party in the 2014 general election, in which it was voted out of power and reduced to 44 Lok Sabha seats.
Referring to controversial calculations made by the CAG in the past, the officials cited above said most of the times the figures had been “notional”. Because of a lack of understanding and technical knowledge of a sector, auditors erred by sidestepping practical issues, actual recovery factors and other contingencies, they said. While procedures and calculations were theoretically correct, the actual numbers were exaggerated primarily because the ground realities different, the officials said.
“CAG reports [in the past] were prepared by taking optimal values, the upside, which were not often realisable or practical. The CAG is now consulting technical experts and we allow ministries and departments to explain their view in the exit interview. All these factors are considered without any fear or favour and then we conclude our reports,” said one of the people cited above, who is aware of the CAG audit exercise.
The CAG has lately been taking help of domain experts from various institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as well as ministries on technical matters so that its reports should not only point out errors in the implementation of policies and schemes but also suggest better alternatives, he said. Even the government departments are increasingly becoming more transparent in providing unhindered access to their data repository to the CAG officials, the second person said. “Thus, the auditor has access to a wealth of data related to social security programmes and tax administration such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Ayushmaan Bharat, income-tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he said.