ALL INDIA AUDIT & ACCOUNTS ASSOCIATION
AUDIT LEKHA BHAWAN
15/1089-90, VASUNDHARA, VASUNDHARA (P.O.), Dt. GHAZIABAD (U.P), PIN-201012
Ph: 0120-2881727/4101593/ 0 – 98681 45667
Website: www.auditflag.blogspot.com
Reference: AIA/Circular-29/2009 Dated: 18th November 2009
Dear Comrades,
PREPARE THE MEMBERSHIP FOR STRUGGLE
THROUGH SUSTAINED CAMPAIGN &
PHASED PROGRAMMES
The CWC meeting held at New Delhi on 29-30th October 2009 considered the developments at Departmental front. After detailed deliberations, the CWC came to the conclusion that the policies that are pursued by the Departmental authorities are to be opposed and reversed. For this to be effective, the employees and officers of IA&AD have to be mobilised first. The CWC concluded that before we embark upon a campaign involving the intelligentsia, politicians etc the personnel in the Department have to be totally involved.
Keeping the above concept in mind, the CWC decided that sustained campaigns have to be undertaken in the department involving all sections of employees and officers, followed by phased agitational programmes culminating in an industrial action. The CWC was of the opinion that the industrial action may be discussed and decided in the 45th Conference.
Accordingly, the following programmes were approved by the CWC.
1. Know Your Demands Week, from 23rd November 2009 to 27th November 2009.
During this week, all Units shall hold Executive Committee meetings followed by activists meeting in which the charter of demands would be discussed in detail. Thereafter campaign shall be conducted section to section, visiting RAP/RAO etc.
Campaign material shall be supplied by HQr (given along with this circular). The same may please be translated into local language and circulated amongst membership.
2. Mobilisation Days on 15, 16 & 17 December 2009
Massive postering may be done on the charter of demands on all these days.
On 15th Dec the Executive Committee shall meet and once again discuss the charter of demands and decide on the effective mobilisation on 16 & 17 Dec 2009.
Activists meeting may be held on 16 Dec 2009.
On 17th Dec, massive demonstration may be held during lunch hour.
One NE member would be deputed to major stations.
3. Lunch Hour Mass Dharna on 5th & 6th January 2010
Two day mass dharna during the lunch hours be held on 5th & 6th Jan 2009. Extensive campaign with meetings of Executive Committee and activists been held prior to this.
4. Mass Deputation on 21st Jan 2010
This phase of programme may be concluded with a massive deputation to heads of department in each station submitting the charter of demands.
Before every programme given above we shall have to conduct campaigns amongst the mass of membership so as to ensure total participation of membership in all programmes. Every campaign shall have to be preceded with meetings of Executive Committee and Activists.
The CWC has further decided to hold a massive dharna before CAG's office followed by an industrial action, the dates of which shall be decided by the 45th Conference.
The Charter of Demands adopted by the CWC is enclosed.
HUMAN CHAIN ON 25TH NOVEMBER 2009
The CWC called upon on every Unit to implement the call of the Confederation to form a human chain on 25th November 2009 on the charter of demands viz
(a) To reduce the price of all essential commodities.
(b) To rescind the orders on outsourcing of Governmental functions and closure of offices
(c) To fill up all vacancies of Group D posts by regular recruitment and stop contracting out the Group D functions and employing daily rated/casual workers to carry out the Group D functions;
(d) Remove the condition imposed on employees who are recruited after 1.1.2004 to draw the 60% arrears (viz. the compulsory filing of application for registration to NPS)
(e) To rescind the decision to replace the CGHS and Medical facilities by Medical Insurance scheme without causing any discussion in this regard with the Staff Side.
(f) To restore the Departmental Council functioning in all Ministries/Departments and ensure that the meetings of the Councils are held once in every four months. Convene the meeting of the Anomaly committees to discuss and settle the issues.
As per the decision of the NE of Confederation held on 13th Sept 2009, this human chain is to be formed between two important government offices of the station.
The CWC endorsed the call of the Confederation and call upon all units to mobilise the employees to ensure massive success of the human chain on 25th November 2009.
With regards
Yours fraternally
(M.S.Raja)
Secretary General
Note: The circular was delayed on account of indifferent health of Secretary General for more than a fortnight.
In case any unit fail to get the circular down loaded in time, they may observe the "know your demands week" in the preceding week.
Charter of Demands
1. a) Vacate victimisation of Association activists.
b) Allow democratic functioning of Association without interference from administration
2. Strengthen Audit & Accounts to Safeguard People's Rights
a) Stop down sizing; Stop outsourcing & privatisation of Audit & Accounts; Scrap curtailment/shedding of Audit functions in the name of Audit Plan.
b) Ensure continuance of the existing Accounting and Auditing methodologies and appropriate party days with scientific work norms.
c) Ensure effective Panchayati Raj Audit & Accounts by sanctioning more posts.
3. a) Amend Company Law and DPC Act for Audit of Public Sector Undertakings & Corporations even after reduction of Government share to below 50%.
b) Amend Company Law to ensure the Audit by IA&AD of all Public Limited Companies listed with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
c) Enact necessary law to bring audit of all public Financial Institutions by IA&AD.
4. Fill up all vacant posts including Gr D, no matching savings at the cost of Gr B, C & D cadres
5. Upgrade all LDC to PB 1 GP 2400 (4000-6000 pre-revised) as Audit/Accounts Assistant; merge LDC & DEO and grant the following pay scales to other cadres
Auditor/Accountant/Steno Gr II: PB2, GP 4200
SA/Steno Gr I : PB2, GP 4600
AAO/Private Secretary : PB2 GP 4800,
PB3, GP 5400 on completion of 4 years
AO : PB3, GP 6600
SAO : PB3, GP 7600
6. Permit all Employees in the GP of 1800 to appear for all Departmental Exams including SOGE.
7. Extend benefits of MACP to Assistant Audit/Accounts Officers by treating promotion to AAO as direct recruitment; Withdraw the order treating promotion from Section Officer to Assistant Audit Officer between 01.01.2006 to 01.09.2008 as null and void.
8. Designate Supervisor as AAO & Earmark 20% of AAO post for seniority cum fitness promotion
9. Remove differential treatment on pay fixation on promotion vis-à-vis direct recruitees in all cadres
10. Stop down sizing of P&T Audit Offices; conduct audit of private service providers as per TRAI regulations
11. Re-imburse hotel charges to Railway Audit personnel wherever Railway accommodation is not allotted while on tour.
12. Regularise all casual, temporary, contract, daily wage workers
13. Permit self certification for TA/DA claims
14. Restore unilateral transfer policy.
15. Step up pay of senior promotees who exhausted ACP, in the event of juniors drawing more pay on getting ACP.
Explanatory Note on Charter of Demands
1. a) Vacate victimisation of Association activists.
b) Allow democratic functioning of Association without interference from administration
The developments in Kerala have been reported through circulars repeatedly. Hundreds of our leaders and activists are facing multiple chargesheets and pay cuts. Two of our comrades have been dismissed from service on fictitious charges. The Accountant General who caused all these havoc has been promoted and posted to another office where till this day he has not even had a courtesy meeting with Association. (That is what many of the IA&AS officers are - discourteous!).
In Rajkot, violating all rules, President of our Association is kept under suspension for more than a year.
We have an administration that will not interfere when the Accountants General run like wild bull, but will come down heavily on the employees when they raise their voice against outsourcing and injustice.
The Indian Audit & Accounts Department might have lost its teeth it had on functional front immediately after the attainment of independence; but IA&AS bureaucracy is still in the immediate post-independent mind set when it come to the question of dealing with employees Association. Dozens of our comrades have been sent out of service for raising the banner of unity and struggle for a better tomorrow. Even today, dozens of comrades in different offices and states are suffering from the high-handedness of the bureaucracy and many are facing charge sheets. In many units, even today, bare minimum facilities are not provided to the Associations. It is expected and demanded that the administration behaves in a manner befitting a democratic set up.
a. Strengthen Audit & Accounts to Safeguard People's Rights.
a) Stop down sizing; Stop outsourcing & privatisation of Audit & Accounts, Scrap curtailment/shedding of Audit functions in the name of Audit Planning.
b) Ensure continuance of the existing Accounting and Auditing methodologies and appropriate party days with scientific work norms.
c) Ensure effective Panchayati Raj Audit & Accounts by sanctioning more posts.
'The Indian Audit & Accounts Department headed by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India may be described as one of the four pillars of India's democratic constitution, the other three being the Executive, the Legislature and the judiciary. It is one of the four agencies of financial control along with the Legislature, the Administrative Ministries and the Finance Ministry. Money has often been described as the fuel of the administrative machine or the blood stream of administration and correct accounting of monetary transactions and their audit by an independent authority are essential adjuncts to the efficient financial administration and good government of any country, more so where a democratic form of government prevails.'
It is this very basic foundation that is turned upside down. It was envisaged in the Constitution to have every paisa accounted for but the powers that be are adopting only such policies and programmes which do exactly the reverse.
In the name of ban on recruitment no recruitment of Auditors/Accountants, Clerks and Gr. Ds in our Department have taken place for the nearly a decade. Vacancies are piling up. There is no manpower to conduct audit. To cope up with the situation CAG has introduced "Audit Plan". This is not a plan to conduct audit in a more scientific manner. It says, in a year conduct only that much audit as may be possible with the available manpower. The remaining Audit need not, nay, should not be shown as arrears. It should be just written off. On the one hand, the constitutional responsibility is just shirked by not conducting audit periodically and on the other hand the quantum of audit gets shrinked, affecting the staff strength and staff prospects. The staff shortage in Audit, leading to curtailment of functions, is used as a pretext for outsourcing/contractorisation and privatisation of auditorial functions.
The ulterior motive behind it could be understood when one learn that this Audit Plan was conceived as back as in 1994. The audit bureaucracy had planned the formation of Institute of Public Auditors (registered as a trust in 1998) (name changed into Institute of Public Auditors & Accountants, later on) and eventual privatisation of auditorial functions is clear from this. This treachery towards the Department by its own officers is to be exposed.
The concept of audit is given a go by. Audit of regulations, financial propriety and even efficiency is dumped for performance-based audit, negating the very concept of audit. Every paisa being accounted and expenditure there-of being audited is replaced by 'show performance and get an audit certificate' system, leaving the unscrupulous activities and decisions as well as corruption undetected. This will negate the right of the citizen of this country to have a clean and transparent administration. It will also make even the existing staff in audit offices surplus. Retaining the existing audit methodology and norms along with formulating scientific work norms is the only solution.
The attempt of the administration to appoint a foreign consultant to conduct a work study and thus to evolve a new work norms is shocking. Imagine, this is done by the Constitutional Authority who is the consultant for all others in the country!
A foreign agency cannot understand the spirit of the Constitution cannot catch up and appreciate the aspirations of the crores of Indian populace and bound to fail in the Indian context. What could be expected of them is imposition of western model on India. This is not acceptable.
The computerisation is playing havoc with Accounts and entitlement functions. In almost all field offices Voucher level Computerisation is on the advanced stage. With state governments completing their computerisation of their offices and treasuries and sub-treasuries, the whole accounting system is getting switched over to on line.
Maintaining the accounts and conducting the audit of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) has come to IA&AD as a result of the 73rd & 74th amendments to the Constitution. Here again we see the same policies, some times more retrograde one like sharing of audit functions with the state Governments and not even demanding accounting functions, are being pursued.
With nearly 80% of the budget allocation going to the PRI, proper accounting and auditing is of the same extent is a must; it is in the interest of democracy, people's rights to have a clean and transparent administration. Also, as far as the employees and officers of IA&AD are concerned it is the question of being able to discharge a national duty in addition to protecting, if not bettering, the prospects.
Instead of discharging the basic Accounting and Auditing duties, the tendency at the highest level in the Department today is to bask in the glory of 'performance audit' reports – patting self on helping the administration.
By over concentrating on this performance audit reports, we are missing wood for trees.
3. a) Amend Company Law and DPC Act for Audit of Public Sector Undertakings and Corporations even after reduction of Government Share below 50%.
b) Amend Company Law to ensure the Audit by IA&AD of all Public Limited Companies listed with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
c) Enact necessary law to bring audit of all Public Financial Institutions by IA&AD.
This demand, or demands, is keeping in mind the role of IA&AD as envisaged in the Constitution. In simple words, where ever public money (this includes 'the public'- the people) is involved it should be audited by a Constitutional authority like CAG. And, CAG's audit should not be construed as audit by any Dick and Harry authorised by CAG. Then it will be like the audit by the Chartered Accountants who do the audit and certify the accounts to please the master who pays them (like the one did by Price water house – the auditors for Satyam). It should be clearly mentioned in the DPC Act that audit by CAG means audit by IA&AD personnel.
The scams that involve thousands of crores of rupees are the order of the day. In all such firms, Chartered Accountants conduct the audit. Again in all these, the victims are innocent people who invested money going by the audit certificate issued by the Chartered Accountants. The common shareholder or investor is unorganised and they are taken for a ride. There comes the need of audit by CAG through IA&AD to ensure that money of the common man is properly accounted for and they are well advised on the health of every firm that goes public with equity offers.
Also, the money invested by the Government directly or by the Financial Institutions like LIC, UTI, Nationalised Banks etc. – even if it is below 50% - is the money of the people of this country. Just because the share is below 50%, it will not be accountable to the parliament and there-by to the people of the country cannot and should not be acceptable. For the democracy to survive in its true sense, it is a must that all such companies come under the scrutiny of IA&AD.
Similarly, in the recent past, some of the investments made by the Financial Institutions were of dubious nature. Sometimes, under pressure or in nexus with the unscrupulous market players rupees worth thousands of crores are invested to the detriment of the exchequer or investor. It is a must that all such Financial Institutions are also brought under the audit of IA&AD.
4. Fill up all vacant posts including Gr D, no matching savings at the cost of Gr B, C & D cadres
The sanctioned strength of the Department in the 1990s was 72000 with a vacancy of nearly 7000. Today, the PIP is 44000. Even all those who matter in the CAG administration accept that the vacancy position is of the tune of 17000. All these vacancies are in the lower cadres of Auditor/Accountant, LDC and Gr D.
This shortage in man power has a telling effect on discharge of functions as stated under item No 2. While the man power shortage affects the functions, there is a substantial increase in the number of Gr A officers and their promotional avenues. The work study that has been entrusted to a transnational corporation will definitely be used to increase the Gr A strength further up in the ladder.
5. Upgrade all LDC to PB 1 GP 2400 (4000-6000 pre-revised) as Audit/Accounts Assistant; merge LDC & DEO and grant the following pay scales to other cadres
Auditor/Accountant/Steno Gr II : PB2, GP 4200
SA/Steno Gr I : PB2, GP 4600
AAO/Private Secretary : PB2 GP 4800,
PB3, GP 5400 on completion of 4 years
AO : PB3, GP 6600
SAO : PB3, GP 7600
The demand is self explanatory. The demand for higher pay for Sr Auditor/Sr Accountant gets strengthened with the hiking up of pay of Assistants of CSS with effect from 1st Jan 2006. It may be noted that the Assistants of CSS were at the pay scale of 5500-9000 on 1st Jan 2006. It was with effect from 15th Sept 2006 their pay was revised to 6500-10500 with a rider that 6 CPC would take a final call on the issue.
It has been stated by PD, staff in the last formal meeting that hence forth all recruitments would be to the cadre of DEO with Grade Pay 2400. Hence the demand that all LDCs be upgraded as DEO with a new nomenclature Audit/Accounts Assistant so as to retain the seniority.
6. Permit all Employees in the GP of 1800 to appear for all Departmental Exams including SOGE.
With the upgradation of all Gr Ds as Gr C with Gr Pay of 1800, available to Gr C all such employees be permitted to write the SOGE examination on completion of 3 years. Similarly promotional exam to Auditor/Accountant may also be made open to all such personnel, including canteen employees.
7. Extend benefits of MACP to Assistant Audit/Accounts Officers by treating promotion as AAO as direct recruitment; Withdraw the order treating promotion from Section Officer to Assistant Audit Officer between 01.01.2006 to 01. 09. 2008 as null and void.
The MSO (Admn), Vol. I states that "Section Officer's (re-designated as Assistant Accounts/Audit Officers) service is an appointment and not regular line of promotion …"
The fact that the service rendered in the cadre of AAO only is counted for future promotions confirms the above position.
It is therefore in fitness of things that the MACP scheme is made applicable to the cadre of AAO (and above) treating the date/month of placement as AAO (previously SO) as the entry date/month into the service.
We have placed this demand vide letter dated August 27, 2009.
The declaration of promotions as AAO between 1st Jan 2006 and 1st Sept 2008 as null and void could be termed as nothing but bizarre.
The gazetted notification by the MOF dated 29th August 2008 took effect from 1st September 2008.
The promotion to AAO from SO is based on a recruitment rule and as no Recruitment Rule can be amended with retrospective effect. Till amended through proper notification, the merger cannot be said to have taken place.
(The formal circular stating that the cadres of Section Officer and AAO are re-designated as AAO was issued on 27th May 2009 by HQr office).
This demand has been raised by us vide our letter dated September 6, 2009.
8. Designate Supervisor as AAO & Earmark 20% of AAO post for seniority cum fitness promotion.
The demand is self explanatory.
9. Remove differential treatment on pay fixation on promotion vis-à-vis direct recruitees in all cadres
The demand is self explanatory.
10. Stop down sizing of P&T Audit Offices; Conduct audit of private service providers as per TRAI regulations.
It is reported that reduction in the actual strength of P&T Audit is being considered. This is based on the report of a task force formed in 2007.
This Association and All India Audit & Accounts Officers Association had jointly finalised a study report on P&T Audit and had submitted to CAG vide letter dated 11th MAY 2007. According to the said report (copy given elsewhere) there is a shortage of 303 Auditor/Sr Ar, 192 AAO and 63 AO/SAO (in 2007).
Similarly this Association had demanded (letter No AIA/B-1/93/2007 date 24th Sept 2007) Audit of private telecom service providers by CAG in line with the Govt notification dated 17th November 2002 and subsequent directive vide No 11-4/2001-A&L dated 13th August 2003 by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to all private service providers to make available all the documents to DGA (P&T). But the Department has failed till this day, causing irreparable loss to the exchequer and bonanza to the private service providers.
These would ensure expansion of P&T Audit.
11. Re-imburse hotel charges to Railway Audit personnel wherever Railway accommodation is not allotted while on tour.
Provision of Rest House facilities for officers and staff of Railway Audit on inspections/reviews duty:
The Officers and staff of the Railway Audit wing of the I.A&A.D on tour duty for inspections/reviews are governed by the Railway T.A Rules envisaging traveling on Duty passes and stay in Railway Rest houses at the work spot. The period of stay for the tour party at the place of duty ranges between 3 and 8 days for carrying out inspections/ review as per the programme of Audit.
In practice, however, difficulties are being faced by the inspection personnel on tour due to non-availability of Railway rest houses at the work spot/ non-allotment of accommodation for the required periods in the rest houses wherever available due to priority in allotment in favour of the Railway personnel on tour. The period of allotment does not exceed 3 days at a time as per the local arrangements. Besides, the touring personnel have to vacate the accommodation even after allotment for these restricted periods in the event of requirement for Railway personnel in exigencies arising out of Railway operations.
As this affects the unhindered conduct/ completion of inspections/ reviews as programmed to the required satisfaction and impacts on the output it was requested during earlier meetings that the members of the inspection/ review parties may be permitted to stay in hotels of appropriate entitlement wherever Rest house facilities are not available/ accommodation not allotted during the period of inspection/ review and expenditure thereof be reimbursed to the personnel on tour duty.
The request has not been agreed to till date by the C& AG's administration and the officials on tour duty continue to suffer while discharging their duties during inspections/reviews.
12. Regularise all casual, temporary, contract, daily wage workers
The demand is self explanatory
13. Permit self certification for TA/DA claims
The present position regarding production of bills for food, conveyance etc toward TA/DA claims would affect the efficiency and output adversely. One will have to spend time to procure bills than concentrating on work at hand.
We have demanded that self certification be permitted (as is the case with Railway Accounts) or the previous TA/DA rates be doubled.
14. Restore unilateral transfer policy.
The demand is self explanatory
15. Step up pay of senior promotees who exhausted ACP, in the event of juniors drawing more pay on getting ACP.
Apex court has ruled in favour of such upgradation in a case filed by Haryana Government employees. The judgement is very categorical that direct recruitees and promotees shall not be differentiated on pay.
Note regarding staff requirement of P&T Organization
(Submitted in May 2007)
After considering the modern changes took place in telecom sector and postal department, an expert committee was formed by the DGPT in 1998 to reassesses the nature of audit to be done with revised party days and party composition. The Norms committee submitted a detailed report on revision of Audit Norms for Postal and Telecommunication services on 22 October 1999. The recommendations were examined and discussed at the Seminar held on 2nd and 3rd December 1999 at Advanced Level Telecom Training Centre Ghaziabad and finally approved by the then Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (P & T). This was Audit Norm 2000; which came into effect from the first quarter of 2000-2001 under office order no, Audit/Audit Norms -2000/F-106/2000-2001/965-980 dated 31st March 2000.
The expert committee arrived at the conclusion after scrutiny of every aspect in detail and after conducting Time and Motion Study. All these things were discussed by the Senior Officers at various levels and examined by the officers at the office of C & AG of India.
On the basis of Audit Norm 2000 taking the minimums in all respect the required staff strength comes to as follows:
|
| AO/ Sr. AO | AAO/SO | Auditors& other Gr. C |
| Minimum requirement | 272 | 520 | 1189 |
| Present strength | 209 | 328 | 886 |
| Shortage | 63 | 192 | 303 |
The situation has been changed but it is addition of work only. No item of work of that time has been abolished or dispensed with for auditing. So, the present staff requirement has been calculated based on that norm which had been fixed by experts of IA & AD and incorporating the additional staff for some of the additional work which have been added after 31st March 2000. For other work the additional requirement could not be calculated for want of any Norm or Yardstick.
This barest minimum is much more than Man-in-position
The additional works are:
(A) Supplementary audit of BSNL since its formation in Oct'2000...
C&AG's instruction received from time to time stressed to complete the work within six week. Practically it has been experienced that the work requires more time. Executives also took considerable time in giving compliance. Still as the entire issue we are presenting on barest minimum the party days required has been taken as six week.
What DGP&T did last two year is that to manage the shortage of staff, supplementary audit of few circles (e.g. Project, Maintenance etc) were omitted/Skipped over during last two years.
(B) Audit of DOT Cell formed in each circle of BSNL along with formation of BSNL.
With the formation of BSNL, in each circle DOT Cell were also formed and it is one of the regulatory authority of Department of Telecom. Instruction issued from DGP&T time to time stressed so many aspects of DOT Cell and to carry out those checks a minimum of 30 days is required as we felt from our field experience.
(C) Introduction of Performance Reviews as per guidelines of ASOSAI or INTOSAI...
It is seen that Central Office instructed all BAO to perform Performance Reviews on an average of 3 to 4 Performance reviews per BAO since last two years. It was given so importance that normal audit has to suspend to man these reviews. As it is a part of program of ASOSAI and INTOSAI we are not against it. Rather we are welcome it. But, corresponding provision of staff should be made before introduction of such Reviews. As per calendar fixed with each reviews and considering the volume of matrices of each reviews and from the practical time taken the party days has been arrived as 23X3 =69 party days per review
(D) Audit of Private Service Providers (in one year it was conducted but not continued)
As per extra ordinary Gazette Notification No.535 dated 27/11/2002 Audit of Private Telecom Service Provider shall be taken up by P&T Audit under DGP&T. As there are 4 to 5 PSPs operating there business in each circle if we take up the audit of each PSP annually then at least 100 Party days is required. But, after conducting audit experimentally on one or two PSP in the year 2004 the same has been discontinued. As no Norm has been fixed yet and we are calculating minimum most requirement this has not been taken in the calculation. But, this is a grey area and we have to put pressure to continue it by fixing the norm
(E) Audit of Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) units
In the telecom sector, revolutionary introduction is of Cellular Telephony. This has come to use after the implementation of audit norm. Considering the growth and volume of this service separate GMs office have been opened in each telecom circle. But instead of taking up the audit separately treating the same as separate GM office it has been audited as part of that particular telecom district due to shortage of man power. But, the expenditure and receipt under this service is huge and separate audit is necessary. As the norm is yet to fix the same is not taken in the calculation.
Though before approval examination and re-examination was done by the Senior officers of IA &AD, few items were not covered in Audit Norm 2000. No subsequent office orders were also issued to cover these items
These are:
(A) Intensive audit of sub-post offices.
Time and again the need of intensification of audit of sub post offices was felt by the authority of IA&AD. In there correspondences also the need was emphasized. Particularly in last year at the time of conducting Performance reviews on postal side the sample size was fixed keeping in view the need to conduct audit at root level. In one of the correspondence Central Office directly admitted the fact and allowed intensified audit by conducting more sub-offices but, simultaneously imposed restriction that no additional manpower will be provided.
Thus, though agreed in principle the office of DGP&T deliberately avoiding audit of sub-post offices just to avoid the staff shortage issue. But, this is violation of constitutional provision. Now-a-days more than 90% sub offices are kept outside audit due to shortage of manpower.
Another interesting thing is that most of the sub-office accounts records are preserved for 3 years only and statistics shows that most of the fraud, misappropriation and defalcation occurred at sub-post office level. So, from the constitutional obligation all the receipt and expenditure of sub-offices or we can say business operated through sub-offices should be brought to the audit purview strictly covering all sub-offices within a period of three years i.e. within the period of preservation of records.
For staff calculation, again the barest minimum has been taken and it is two days only. One day is for requisition and checking of records and next day for writing the Inspection Report and discussion with executive.
(B) Audit of Mukhya Dak Ghar.
Some major sub-offices under a Head Post Office is designated as Mukhya Dak Ghar by the authority of Postal department considering the volume of transaction. But, in audit no separate audit is being referred to in the Audit Norm 2000. As of now there is 461 number Mukhya Dak Ghar is the DOP which is not being properly audited
And so on,
Thus, DG P&T is not taking the care of its auditee unit and should apprise the C&AG so that the task force constituted can analyze the issues and instead of exploring the avenue of redeployment of surplus staff they can explore the avenues of increasing the staff strength by fresh recruitment.
