Koshi Province Public Accounts Committee Members Question Officials on Audit Irregularities

Biratnagar. Members of the Koshi Province Assembly have asked tough questions to the Auditor General's Office and ministry secretaries during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee. The first hour of the committee meeting on Wednesday was spent on the presentation of the Auditor General's Office and general clarifications from the ministry secretaries. During this, the secretaries tried to absolve themselves by saying that there were problems due to lack of laws, and the Auditor General's Office stated that they write based on the law and moved on. However, when it was the turn of the assembly members to speak after about an hour, the atmosphere of the meeting suddenly heated up. Assembly members Revatiraman Bhandari, Bhupendra Rai, and Kishorchandra Dulal expressed serious suspicion that there is an unspoken 'connection' (collusion) between the secretaries of the ministries implementing the budget and the Auditor General's Office testing it. Their common conclusion was, 'Such a mountain of irregularities cannot be formed without an internal setting between the spending and testing bodies.' Assembly member Bhupendra Rai made the longest and toughest statement in the meeting. Pointing to the collusion between the ministry secretaries and the officials of the Auditor General's Office, he claimed that the fact that the same type of irregularities occur every year and are later settled internally indicates not just something fishy, but the whole thing is rotten. 'Honorable Chairman, a great collusion is visible here! They are the ones spending, they are the ones testing. And in the end, they are the ones who collude to fix the paperwork,' said Assembly member Rai. 'How can the same mistake be repeated for years? Why is money repeatedly distributed in violation of the law under the same heading? Because there is a deep connection between the Auditor General's Office and the ministry secretaries. Such mismanagement is not possible without this connection and setting.' Rai also raised serious questions about the working style of the Auditor General's Office. 'Initially, the Auditor General's Office shows huge irregularities. The secretaries pretend to be scared. But later, who knows what transactions and agreements happen behind closed doors, that same irregularity is quietly settled. How can something that lacks proof later gain proof?' Rai asked. 'Is there any greater crime than the public's tax money being distributed arbitrarily, and the Auditor General's Office and secretaries legitimizing it based on paperwork? We, the people's representatives, cannot just watch this setting.' He also clarified that secretaries cannot get away by making excuses of political pressure. 'You are secretaries, who forced you to obey orders against the law? Is it permissible to commit mistakes yourself and then escape by blaming the law and standards?' Rai questioned. Another assembly member, Kishorchandra Dulal, also made a sharp but polite comment on the relationship between the Auditor General's Office and the secretaries. 'The Auditor General's Office initially points out irregularities. It says the law is violated. But when it comes to settlement, with what magic wand does the same Auditor General's Office regularize it? If the law was violated, how was it regularized? Either the intention of the Auditor General's Office in writing the irregularity initially is bad, or there is a setting when it is settled later. There is no third option besides these two,' he said. He claimed that good governance will always be in jeopardy until the unhealthy transaction mentality between ministry officials and auditors ends. Assembly member Revatiraman Bhandari also accused the Auditor General's Office and ministries of playing a game of saving each other by taking advantage of technicalities and legal loopholes. Assembly member Dulal emphasized the need for discussions between the ministries and the Auditor General's Office, comparing clause by clause. Chairman Rajan Rai has called a meeting for further discussion on Asar 2.