Himachal Assembly Panel Seeks Time-Bound Replies on Pending Audit Paras

The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly’s Local Fund Accounts Committee held a meeting at Bachat Bhawan in Bilaspur today, with emphasis on the time-bound settlement of pending audit paras. Committee chairman Sanjay Rattan directed officials to submit replies within the prescribed time and ensure the proper and effective use of government funds.

The meeting was chaired by Sanjay Rattan. Committee members and MLAs Dr. Hansraj, Indradutt Lakhanpal, Malender Rajan, Kuldeep Rathore and Vivek Sharma were present. Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar welcomed the committee.

The committee held a detailed discussion on the pending audit paras related to various departments, as identified by the State Audit Department. The meeting also reviewed estimates of income and expenditure for the last three years, along with the development works carried out during this period.

Audit paras connected with the Panchayati Raj Department and the Urban Development Department were also discussed in detail. The committee examined the status of these matters and the responses pending from the departments concerned.

Sanjay Rattan said the committee’s main objective was to ensure that various government projects were completed within the prescribed time limit. He said that whether the projects were related to urban local bodies, Panchayati Raj institutions or other departments, all works should be completed in a time-bound manner.

He also stressed the need to ensure the proper and effective utilisation of government funds. Sanjay Rattan said the use of government funds must be subject to regular and proper audit.

He said that, in several cases, the committee did not receive replies from the departments concerned for years. As a result, audit paras continued to remain pending for a long time. During this period, several officers were transferred or retired, but the pending paras were still not settled within the required time.

Sanjay Rattan said the disposal of such cases was among the committee’s priorities. He said unnecessary delays in receiving replies related to audit paras had led to an increase in the number of pending matters.

He said that, on several occasions, information was sought from the concerned officers at the field level, but the information was not provided on time. This also caused replies to remain pending at the Secretariat level.

To address this problem, the committee decided to visit the field, engage directly with officials and settle cases that had remained pending for a long period. The move is aimed at obtaining the required information directly from the officers concerned and speeding up the disposal of long-pending audit paras.

The chairman directed officials to present correct and factual replies to the questions raised before the committee. He cautioned that presenting incorrect facts could amount to contempt of the House. He also said that action could be taken against the concerned officer under privilege provisions.

Sanjay Rattan made it clear that the time fixed for submitting replies must be followed. He said a time limit could be set for providing the replies, but delays running into years would not be acceptable.

He directed all officials to present the correct status of cases before the committee. This, he said, would allow the committee to take appropriate decisions on the basis of the available facts.

The chairman said the government runs various schemes and programmes for the convenience of the people. Officials and employees have an important role in ensuring that these schemes and programmes reach the general public.

He called upon officials to discharge their duties with complete honesty and dedication. He also directed them not to treat office work as a mere formality, but to consider it a personal responsibility and help speed up development works.

Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dhiman, Additional Deputy Commissioner Rupinder Kaur and senior officers from various departments were also present at the meeting.