Commmittee criticises govt for lacking effective control & suitable check on financial management

The Committee on PublicAccounts of the Assam Assembly on Thursday criticised thestate government for lacking ''effective control and suitablecheck'' on financial management as well as not having a ''fool-proof system'' to monitor expenditure.

Tabling its report on Public Health Engineering (PHE)Department for three fiscals from 2014-15 to 2016-17, theCommittee on Public Accounts considered a report by theComptroller and Auditor General of India on AppropriationAccounts.

''The excess expenditure over the grants voted by theAssembly and charged appropriation appears to be a continuingphenomenon owing to lack of proper exercising the effectivecontrol and suitable check on the financial management of thegovernment,'' it added.

The 13-member committee, headed senior Congress MLAWazed Ali Choudhury, said a large number of grants have beentransacted every year through the different departments of thegovernment.

''But it is obvious that the state government do notorganise a fool-proof system to monitor the flow ofexpenditure and to exercise control on overspending in orderto restrict the expenditure within the limit of the grantvoted by the Assembly for a particular service,'' it added.

These deficiencies have led to incurring of excessmoney than the amount approved by the House, the reportsaid.

The Committee said that Rs 982.95 crore have beenspent in ''excess'' to the voted amount by the PHE Department.

''After threadbare discussion with the departmentalrepresentatives, the Committee, with great restraint, arrivedat the conclusion to recommend regularisation by the statelegislature of the... excess expenditure,'' the report stated.

PTI TRRG RG