Delaying Tabling of CAG Reports in Assembly a ‘Dangerous Trend’: CAG Officials
During his address on ‘State of the Finances of Telangana’, Senior Deputy Accountant General (Audit Management Group II) Dr Sanjay Rao Kamineni observed that although Telangana has a decent growth rate.
Hyderabad:Delaying the tabling of CAG reports in the Assembly is a “dangerous trend” in recent years, CAG officials said, highlighting how such tactics by state governments have impacted accountability.
Responding to a question from a college student during the CAG-ICSSR Colloquium Series of the Telangana Chapter at OU, P. Madhavi, the state’s Principal Accountant General (Audit), explained that CAG reports were being “held up” by some state governments of late. When these reports are not placed in the Assembly on priority, the chances of discussion in the public sphere are bleak.
“Earlier, CAG reports used to go to the Governor, who would forward them to the Assembly for tabling. Of late, some state governments are holding up the reports. This is a dangerous and unhelpful trend. However, from our side, we keep pursuing the matter with the government to ensure they are placed in the next session,” the PAG clarified.
During his address on ‘State of the Finances of Telangana’, Senior Deputy Accountant General (Audit Management Group II) Dr Sanjay Rao Kamineni observed that although Telangana has a decent growth rate, its borrowings have crossed limits. He emphasised the need for a “realistic budget” rather than one with “inflated” figures. He said internal debt, loans from the Union government and the total fiscal liabilities of the state witnessed a significant increase from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
Former UoH professor Dr V.M. Sarma Jana, in his address, highlighted how the southern states remained at the receiving end owing to the “arbitrary” weightage formula adopted for population by the Finance Commission. “If any of the younger generation look at rationality, they won’t find any. These weights are arbitrary. The problem lies with the Finance Commission’s devolution formula and related aspects. You should reduce tax devolution but increase grants based on specific needs,” Sarma explained in response to a question
ICSSR Council Member and former OU Vice-Chancellor Prof. T. Tirupati Rao, TISS professor Dr Bibhu Prasad Nayak and others also spoke.
