We are mandated to share draft reports under RTI: Vinod Rai

Interview with Comptroller & Auditor General of India

Comptroller & Auditor General Vinod Rai, who has put the government on the mat several times in the past three years, says an auditor is meant to be adversarial. On the sidelines of the inauguration of the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development in Jaipur on Saturday, Rai, whose term as the CAG ends on May 22, spoke to journalists about his stint, retirement plans and future of the audit body. Edited excerpts:

You are said to have caused a lot of embarrassment to the government. How do you look back on your experience as the CAG?
I think I have a lot of people to compete with. There was Bofors, fodder scam… The auditor is always meant to be adversarial. It has been exciting. I am very proud of the professional expertise the department has. We have to keep upgrading it. You cannot fault the quality of our audit.

Many draft reports have got leaked. Are you doing anything to plug these leaks?

I am as concerned about it as the government. I wrote to the prime minister and the Speaker on that. We are part of the Right to Information Act. We are mandated to share the information, the draft report, if it is sought under RTI.

What are your plans for retirement? Will you join politics?
There are no such plans. Why should I now do something that I have not done for 40 years.

Is there any change you would want to see in CAG?
It is an evolving process. Governments change, systems of delivery change. As I said, we have to keep upgrading ourselves. The mandate of the CAG is that we are answerable to Parliament. We have to give an assurance that public money has been spent for the purpose it was meant.

There is also a talk of multi-headed CAG. Do you think it will dilute the power of CAG?
Has Election Commission’s role got diluted because of multiple heads? It has not. Three years back, our opinion was taken on the matter. There are three models followed across the world. There is the Court of Audit in France, the Commission of Audit in Japan. And we follow the Westminster model used in Commonwealth countries. We have to see which model works best for us.

Do you think CAG should be given more legal power?
Not necessarily. We collaborate with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). If we think there is any irregularity, not “corruption”, we inform CVC.

There has been a lot of controversy about CAG’s Rs 1.76-lakh-crore 2G loss figure. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has come up with a different and much lower figure. What do you say on that?
My report says it all. There has been loss to the exchequer. The quantum of the loss can be debated. We have mentioned in our report that it is a “presumptive” loss.