Performance of regulatory bodies, railway subsidies under PAC scanner

Amid a political storm over allegations of conflict of interest against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has decided to review the performance of regulatory bodies established by Acts of Parliament.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Congress leader and Lok Sabha member K C Venugopal, decided to include suo-moto subjects -- performance review of regulatory bodies established by Acts of Parliament, reforms in banking and insurance sector, review of implementation of centrally sponsored welfare schemes -- as part of its agenda that includes a total of 161 subjects.

Buch is facing allegations of conflict of interest over the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) investigation into the Hindenburg Research claims against the Adani Group.

The Congress has questioned payments made to Buch made by ICICI Bank, her former employer, after she became a whole time member of SEBI, and sought an independent probe into the matter.

The PAC will hold its next meeting on September 10 when representatives of the Jal Shakti ministry will brief the panel on the 'Performance Audit on National Rural Drinking Water Programme (Jal Jeevan Mission)' based on a CAG report.

The PAC will also audit "fees, tariffs, user charges and so on" levied at public infrastructure such as airports. Currently, seven Indian airports are managed by the Adani Group.

The PAC is responsible for auditing the revenue and the expenditure of the government.

The other subjects include review of the performance audit on construction of border roads along the India-China border by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), cross-subsidization of passengers and other coaching services by the Railways, performance audit of preservation and conservation of monuments and antiquities and performance audit on exemptions to charitable trusts and institutions.