Letters: Ambit of audit

This refers to the report "CAG gears up to audit books of 5 private telcos, Delhi discoms"(January 7). Article 149 of the Constitution mentions inter alia that "the CAG [Comptroller and Auditor General] shall perform such duties and exercise such powers in relation to the accounts of the Union and of the States and of any other authority or body as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament…". Perhaps those who drafted the Indian Constitution might not have foreseen the kind of scrutiny now being necessitated by vanishing accountability on the part of "public servants" who handle public funds. If the cardinal principle of financial management, that sources and uses of funds should be subject to prudent accounting when money is collected from the public is still valid, contesting the right to audit by those vested with that responsibility doesn't stand reason. What baffles the common man is the resistance to transparency in accounting, whether it is gold, money or any other asset. If some quarters are comfortable with a "private" audit, then that audit should be allowed to be regulated by the CAG or any other authority which is acceptable to the government.

M G Warrier Thiruvananthapuram

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