CAG,PAC and Mr. Moily-difficult to digest!

The Union Law Minister has expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). According to him,had this office intervened at the appropriate time,many scams and scandals could have been prevented.

Now this requires some thought about the very nature of the functioning of this body. Most of its activities are carried out after the events past. The objections are classified according to their gravity and perhaps the gravest goes upto the PAC (Public Accounts Committee). This calls for an introspection into what the governments do or do not do about the PAC's criticisms. We shall explore some instances...

Some time ago, the PAC pulled up the Railway Board for unjustified investments to the tune of 30000 crores. This figure went up year after year and one finds no reply from any Railway Minister when the annual Railway Budget is presented. The white paper presented raised several questions on Laloo's manouvering with what he called as 'surplus'.

Based on a Report on the Indian Railways submitted by the CAG during 2007, the PAC tabled its Report in Parliament which stated that the carrying capacity of wagons should not be augmented without conducting a thorough, scientific and feasibility study since there were several instances of rail fractures, weld fractures and defects in wagons and locos. It criticised the policy of 'incurring long term damage to Railway Infrastructure for some short term gains in freight earnings.'

There was also a mention of motor cars being erroneously included in the category of 'essential commodities'!

Returning to the subject, scams and scandals aside, the issue here is the increasing number of accidents owing to this sheer lack of perspective on part of the government. This instance is glaringly connecting the lives of millions of passengers who board the trains with the belief that all is well!

Mr. Moily, a Minister representing the government therefore has no business to talk like this about the institution of the CAG. The Honourable Minister of Law needs to spell the word 'Justice' before publicly commenting upon the functioning of the CAG.