Circular 21-2009

Dear Comrade

 

Circular 21-2009 is posted below

 

MS Raja

Secretary General

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

E-mail: auditflag1923@gmail.com

Website: www.auditflag.blogspot.com

 

Reference: AIA/Circular-21/2009                                                                           Date: August 11, 2009

 

To

Unit Secretaries,

Members of Women's Committee &

Members & Spl. Invitees – NE

           

 

Dear Comrades,                                                                 

 

OBSERVE VACATE VICTIMISATION DAY ON 18^TH AUGUST 2009

 

            The National Executive that met at New Delhi on 19, 20, 21 July 2009 called upon every unit to observe VACATE VICTIMISATION DAY on 18^th August 2009 by holding lunch hour demonstration.

            The resolution adopted by the NE meeting is self explanatory. Details are given in Circular 16-2009.

            Following resolution may be adopted in the lunch hour mass meetings and forwarded to CAG through proper channel.

                       

                                                                Resolution                          

 

            The mass meeting of the members of……………………..Association, ….. held during lunch break on 18^th August 2009 records its strong resentment over the inaction amounting to complicity of the CAG's administration over the naked violations of rights of the employees perpetuated by the Accountant General (A&E) & Pr. Accountant Genera l (Audit) Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram as well as Accountant General (Audit), Gujarat, Rajkot.

            The situation in Kerala offices has no parallel in the history of IA&AD. What one could notice in Kerala is total infringement of personal privacy, total and violent negation of all civilised norms of administration. Nearly one-sixth of personnel in the offices of Accountants General (both in Audit as well A&E) offices have been proceeded against – many of them more than once – under Rule 14 as well as Rule 16 of CCS (CCA), Rules, 1965 and almost all of them have been penalised heavily and cumulatively for the simple reason that they exercised their right to live with dignity in a sovereign country. Com KA Manuel has been dismissed from service.

            The situation in the office of Accountant General (Audit), Gujarat, Rajkot is nothing but bizarre. The President of Civil Audit Association, Rajkot is kept under suspension for the last one year, again violating all extant orders in this regard. The enquiry report exonerating him has been set aside by the disciplinary authority and fresh enquiry ordered.

            This mass meeting of members of ………Association notes with grave concern that the intervention of CAG's administration in ensuring rule of law in both the offices has been abysmal. Despite many assurances, no remedial action has been effected in Rajkot.

            This mass meeting note with dismay that the administration of CAG has got two sets of norm to deal with employees and officers up to Gr B and the IA&AS officers.

 

            The employees and officers who take part in the trade union activities are dealt with by inflicting serious injuries for raising the employees and nation's issues where as IA&AS officers facing serious allegations of unethical behaviour are treated with kid gloves like transfer to another post, many times in the same station. Even those charged with attempted rape/molestation are not even kept under suspension till enquiry is over; they are given lucrative postings immediately thereafter.

            This type of actions by the administration give the impression that indulgence in unethical activities and forcing others to do such things are welcome, but speaking against or questioning such activities will not be tolerated. A new work culture that has already done enough damage to the IA&AD is being attempted to be perpetuated.

            The attacks against the Association leaders and activists in Kerala, Rajkot and West Bengal are the open manifestation of much more serious designs to stifle the voices of the employees as one would note that the root cause of present situation in Kerala was the attempted outsourcing of functions and the resistance against outsourcing of functions by the employees and officers.

This mass meeting of the members of …………….Association, ……. appeals to the Hon'ble Comptroller & Auditor General of India to intervene and direct the administration to resolve the situation prevailing in Kerala and Rajkot offices which are in its worst form where as in other offices it is manifesting in different forms at different levels.

Further, this meeting urges upon the Hon'ble Comptroller & Auditor General of India to take steps to transfer the present Accountant General (A&E), Kerala outside Kerala immediately. 

This mass meeting of members of …………..Association,……held on 18^th August 2009 unanimously resolve to forward a copy of this Resolution to Hon'ble Comptroller & Auditor General of India through proper channel.

 

Signature

President

……………….Association

 

            Detailed report on the implementation of the programme may kindly be sent to HQrs without fail.

             

PREPARE MEMBERSHIP AGAINST DOWNSIZING OF IA&AD

 

            Realising that the attack on the Trade union rights of the employees is very much linked to the move of the departmental authorities to down size the department and outsource its functions even by subverting constitutional propriety, we should educate the membership to prepare for the struggle where each of this issue will have to be focused with equal force. We should not also lose sight of the fact that the effort is to make the whole edifice of Indian democracy an item in a show case.

            Prepare for Demands Day on 28^th August 2009 and for bitter struggles in the days to come.                                                                                                                                

  

            With greetings,

 

Yours fraternally

 

 

 

(M. S. Raja)

Secretary General

 

Circular 20-2009

Dear Comrades

 

Circular 20-2009 is posted below

 

Yours fraternally

 

MS Raja

Secretary General

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

E-mail: auditflag1923@gmail.com

Website: www.auditflag.blogspot.com

 

Reference: AIA/Circular-20/2009                                                                             Date: August 6, 2009

 

To

Unit Secretaries,

Members of Women's Committee &

Members & Spl. Invitees – NE

 

 

Dear Comrades,

 

REVISED TOUR PROGRAMME

 

            The tour programme circulated vice Circular 17-2009 needed some revision/correction.

 

            Units may please note that the dates of visit of CHQ leaders are changed in respect of some stations (especially of those allotted to Secretary General).

 

            Revised programme is given below.

 

Sl No	Station	Date	Visiting CHQ leader	Onward journey to
1	Goa	19,20 August	MS Raja, SG	Rajkot
2.	Rajkot	24,25 August	MS Raja SG VK Bhambhi	New Delhi Ahmedabad
3	Mumbai	7,8,9 Sept	V Nageswara Rao Addl SG Ashok Sarma, Asst SG K Uayakumar, Asst SG	Nagpur Nagpur Chennai
4.	Nagpur	10,11 Sept	M Duraipandian, President V Nageswara Rao, Addl SG Ashok Sarma, Asst SG	Chennai Hyderabad Howrah
5.	Chennai	14,15,16 Sept	V Sreekumar, Addl SG KC Mathai, Asstt SG VS Jaitha, Convener, Women's Committee	Bangalore Nagpur Bangalore
6.	Gwalior	7,8 Sept 09	MS Raja, SG Jagmohan Thakur, ASG	Chandigarh Chandigarh
7	Chandigarh	9,10,11 Sept	MS Raja, SG Jagmohan Thakur, ASG	New Delhi Shimla
8.	Bhubaneswar	7,8 Sept	M Duraipandian, Pres Sitaram Singha, Addl SG Anindya Mitra, ASG	Nagpur Howrah "
9	Dehradun	14,15 Sept	MS Raja, SG Subhash Pandey, VP Jagmohan Thakur, ASG	New Delhi Allahabad Shimla
10	Bangalore	17,18 Sept	MS Raja, SG V Sreekumar, Addl SG VS Jaitha, Convener, Women's Committee	New Delhi Thrisur Thiruvananthapuram
11	Agartala	10,11 Sept	Sitaram Singha, Addl SG Anindya Mitra, ASG	Kolkata "
12	Jammu	5,6 October	MS Raja SG Jagmohan Thakur, ASG	Jaipur "
13	Jaipur	7,8 October	MS Raja SG Jagmohan Thakur, ASG Ashok Sarma, ASG	New Delhi Shimla Howrah

 

            With greetings,

Yours fraternally

 

 

 

 

(M. S. Raja)

Secretary General

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circular 19-2009

Dear Comrades

 

Circular 19-2009 is posted below

 

MS Raja

Secretary General

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

E-mail: auditflag1923@gmail.com

Website: www.auditflag.blogspot.com

 

Reference: AIA/Circular-19/2009                                                                                     Date: July 6, 2009

 

To

Unit Secretaries,

Members of Women's Committee &

Members & Spl. Invitees – NE

 

 

Dear Comrades,

 

RESIST THIS MOVE TO DOWN-SIZE; DEFEAT THE NEFARIOUS GAMES

 

            The Web Site of CAG of India is carrying an item called "Expression of Interest". If any straight thinking personnel working in IA&AD or an outsider thinks that it would definitely be an expression of admittance of not doing the Constitution-mandated responsibilities properly and a course correction there-of, he/she is terribly mistaken.

 

            In the true sense, it should not be called 'Expression of Interest' which, for all purposes, is nothing but a Tender Notice – IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF INTENTION; the intention to destabilise and dethrone the concept of public accountability. It is an affront to the Indian Constitution.

 

            In our bilateral meeting with Principal Director, Staff on 20^th April 2009, we were informed that the Cadre review report is almost final and it is expected that it would be subjected to discussion with Staff Side in a matter of weeks. Some broad hints were also thrown in that meeting. But now, we are told that cadre review report has gone to cold storage, rather to dustbin.

 

            Immediately thereafter, we find this "Expression of Interest" in the website of CAG of India calling for applications from interested parties to undertake a work study in IA&AD "to redefine/ revise the work norms to assess the staff strength in Gr B & C cadres in different streams of IA&AD".

 

            It is a fact that few years back also, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) was engaged to conduct such a work study, bit clandestinely (nothing of the sort did appear in the Web Site, only after its abandoning we were informed about it in an off-the-cuff remark). The work study by TCS was a flop and had to be abandoned or rejected.

 

            The reason for the failure of TCS need not be researched upon, it is so simple. No outside agency can understand the complex nature of work IA&AD undertakes. No agency can ever understand and appreciate the social fervour that the employees and officers do partake in the discharge of the duties in the interest of the nation, in the name of the people of this great country.

 

            The tragedy today is that the powers-that-be in the Indian Audit & Accounts Department also has forgotten this golden rule of total commitment to the people and the nation, through total adherence to the mandate set in the Constitution. Other wise, such sort of an exercise of appointing an outside consultant would not have been thought of, forget about notifying about it.

 

            The idea is clear – reduce the man power at Gr B & C cadres. (They have already –with the help of 6 CPC and connivance of dominant section of Staff Side, JCM – removed the Gr D from the scene). This can be done only if the accounting and auditing is taken away from the grass roots and made it peripheral, a cosmetic one.

 

            The whole idea is to make the Constitution and the mandate it bestows on CAG a sham. The multi-billion scams should not come out; the multi-billion tax evasions should be overlooked. The moneyed and the powerful should not have anything that will irritate them. Ofcourse, this leads to a situation where democracy is made a farce.

 

            For this, the best is to ensure that the accounting and auditing is made ineffective. The people should have no right to know what is happening in their name, on their behalf; CAG should be made a scare crow.

 

            Alas! In this game plan they have got turn coats from within IA&AD. For them INTOSAI and ASOSAI are more sacrosanct than the Constitution of India. (They do remember about the Constitution when to punish the Trade Union worker! Only for that).

 

            But the Audit and Accounts Employees will tell them that their attempts to sell off the interest of the department, the nation and its people will not be allowed to succeed.

 

            Massive campaign may be launched amongst the employees to prepare them to wage a relentless struggle against the move to down size the IA&AD.

 

With the slogan "Prevent CAG from Abdicating Constitutional Responsibility; Strengthen Audit & Accounts to Safeguard People's Rights" we have to mobilise the people outside the department to ensure that the evil design to downsize IA&AD and abdicate the constitutional & social responsibilities of CAG is not allowed to.

 

            The letter written to CAG is attached.

 

            With greetings,

Yours fraternally

 

 

 

(M. S. Raja)

Secretary General

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

E-mail: auditflag1923@gmail.com

Website: www.auditflag.blogspot.com

 

Reference: AIA/B-1/69/2009                                                                         Date: August 2, 2009

 

 

To

The Comptroller & Auditor General of India,

10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,

New Delhi – 110002

 

 

 

  Subject: - Appointment of Consultant for work study, inviting expression of interest there-of –Reg.

 

 

Sir,

 

            I am to invite a reference to the "Expression of Interest" (EOI) placed on the website of CAG of India calling for interested parties to apply for conducting Work Study in Indian Audit & Accounts Department.

 

            This Association has been demanding revision of Work Norms based on scientific study since mid-1980s. It is good that the administration has acknowledged that there is a need for revision of norms, framed way back in 1960s and early 1970s. 

 

            The EOI speaks on the need to appoint a consultant "to conduct a work study to redefine/revise established work norms for assessing the strength in the Group B & C cadres."  

           

The above mentioned statement as well as succeeding statements in the EOI gives an impression that the whole idea of work study is to reduce the manpower at Gr C & Gr B levels; it has nothing to do with the improvement in the over all performance in the functioning of the Department –in the discharge the noble cause as "Watchdog of Indian Finances". 

 

             This is at variance with this Association's longstanding demand for scientific revision of work norms. Our concept of framing scientific work norms was based on the understanding that this has to be evolved by undertaking an in-house study, wing wise and function wise making use for good the vast expertise that is at our command  where staff side representatives (through recognised Federations) are also thoroughly involved.

 

            Only such a study will be comprehensive, touching all core areas, which will stand test of time and will be truly committed to responsibilities that the Constitution of the Country bestows upon the CAG of India and the Indian Audit & Accounts Department. 

 

The EOI that is placed in the website of CAG of India states "Purpose of this exercise is to classify the audit functions into following broad categories: Expenditure audit, Receipt audit (with compliance, financial attestation and performance aspects)".  

 

This Association feels that this is a violent deviation from the audit methodologies hitherto successfully followed. Restricting the audit to "compliance, financial attestation and performance aspects' amounts to stating that the Department henceforth won't be undertaking regularity and propriety audits. If that the case be, it will be an affront to the Indian Constitution and we cannot accept it. 

 

            The functions and ofcourse the priorities of the government has undergone drastic changes in the nearly last two decades from what it had been immediately after independence and the decades there after when building up infrastructure was the core concern and activity. Naturally, the role of audit & accounts would also have to imbibe that changes and improve upon, and not abandoning altogether, the methodologies of auditing and accounting so as to ensure that the responsibilities that has been bestowed upon to this institution by the Constitution is fulfilled to the satisfaction of the stakeholders, ie the people of the country.

 

            We should not forget that the CAG of India and Indian Audit & Accounts Department is discharging the functions on behalf of the crores of ordinary people who otherwise has no say over the affairs of the nation.

 

            The argument that the advent of IT or online accounting has caused a situation wherein the manpower is getting excess is not compatible with the factual position prevailing in none of the offices of the Accountants General (A&E). The acute shortage of manpower in A&E offices has increased the work load on the existing staff to an unbearable limit. Also, functions in A&E offices could be streamlined as complimentary to auditorial functions to make it more effective, instead using increased role of IT as a ruse to get rid of the man power at the cost of an all important duty. The reality is that the department has abdicated the responsibility of core activity of accounting by limiting itself to submission of financial statements and finalisation appropriation accounts.

 

We are afraid that the attempt to appoint an external agency as a consultant is fraught with perils and shortcomings because such an outside agency may not be able to understand and appreciate the intricacies of the functioning of the department  

 

It is the considered view of this Association that the Work Study by outside agency will not do justice to the Department and the nation as it is well proved over the period of time that these agencies would not have any social commitment or commitment to the Constitution of the Country or to the people of this Country.

 

We are also of the opinion that this engagement of external consultant for work study in IA&AD is detrimental to the interest of the employees and officers and more than that to the interest of public accountability.

 

No outside agency can understand the complex nature of work we discharge, the social angle of these duties and the thrust of the mandate the CAG of India enjoys and commands. 

 

This Association therefore urges the Comptroller and Auditor General of India to reconsider the decision to involve an outside agency for evaluation of work norms. 

 

This Association further urges the C & AG of India to establish a departmental committee comprising officers with sufficient knowledge and experience and a real appreciation of the work being done by the various cadres and units of this department and direct that committee to have consultation with employees' organization in the matter. This, in our view, would assure the officers and staff that the assessment will be objective, just and acceptable to all sections so as to be deservingly called as "watchdog of Indian finances'.

 

Thanking you in anticipation,

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

(M. S. Raja)

Secretary General