NGOs should be brought under CAG ambit: Ansari

SHIMLA - Vice President Hamid Ansari Tuesday said public funds spent by non-government organisations (NGOs) should be brought under the ambit of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

“The provisions of the act are restrictive regarding audit of public funds spent by the NGOs, autonomous organisations, societies and trusts. In my view, any organisation that comes under the definition of ‘public authority’ in the Right to Information (RTI) Act should be subject to the audit of the CAG,” Ansari said.

“Uniformity in audit treatment of regulatory bodies must be ensured, if necessary through statutory means, so that their accounts, performance, and decisions that directly or indirectly carry financial implications are brought under the purview of the CAG,” he added.

Ansari was addressing a select gathering of officials of the National Academy of Audit and Accounts here on the occasion of its diamond jubilee celebrations.

Talking about extending subsidies on various government schemes, Ansari said: “Provision of subsidies should be subject to public audit due to their significant impact on government budgets and burden of future governments.”

He said the total expenditure of the central government has gone up 10 times from around Rs.95,000 crore in 1989-90 to Rs.1 million crore in 2009-10.

“The most dramatic jump has been in transfer payments by the central government to the rest of the economy that has gone up over 15 times from approximately Rs.44,700 crore in 1989-90 to Rs.674,000 crore in 2009-2010,” he said.

Ansari advocated that the state accountants general should be given greater authority by the CAG, while maintaining its general control. The effective use of public audit demands that fixing responsibility on officials who may have caused loss to the exchequer, he added.