Indira Awaas Yojana, a social welfare programme started to provide homes to the poorest of the poor, has fallen prey to rampant corruption in Bihar, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General report has said.
Slamming Congress for trying to "weaken" Comptroller and Auditor General by making it a multi-member body, the Baratiya Janata Party on Monday warned that any such move would only 'boomerang' on the party.
With CAG alleging that Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries was delaying furnishing of records for audit, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday said there was no problem and "everybody" was cooperating.
Agitated over its finding in the coal mine allocation issue, Congress on Monday targeted the Comptroller and Auditor General again by utilising the opinion of the Supreme Court on the 2G spectrum issue. Noting certain observations of the apex court in the 2G case, spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "If the Supreme Court can be so circumspect in its observations, is it not essential that other constitutional bodies, especially the CAG, should follow suit?".
Politics over its critical reports on scams echoed in the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Comptroller and Auditor General on Wednesday when Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi praised Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for defending both the CAG and the PAC when they came under attack.
Reliance Industries was to relinquish 25 per cent of the gas-bearing KG-D6 block in 2004 and a similar area in 2006 but the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, which was at that time headed by V K Sibal, concluded that hydrocarbon prospectivity "extends over entire block and hence no block area needed to be relinquished."
The Comptroller of Auditor General (CAG) on Friday came down heavily on the environment ministry for lapses in implementation of its green schemes whether it was for afforestation, biodiversity, pollution control or creating awareness.
The plan of action ranges from drawdown of loans to seeking additional guarantees, to even recalling some of the loans, if the situation so warrants.
A fresh public interest litigation was Monday filed in the Supreme Court claiming that the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was arbitrary and made without any transparency.
The deadlock in Parliament over the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal blocks allocation continued on Monday with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition sticking to its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation. Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have been adjourned till noon.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday targeted Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai suggesting he has a political agenda like one of his controversial predecessors T N Chaturvedi, who had given a report on Bofors issue and soon after joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
CAG's report on Hydrocarbon Exploration Efforts of ONGC, which was tabled in Parliament today, expressed concern at the company's lack of adequate efforts and results in new fields and wanted the Oil Ministry to reset annual targets set out in memorandum of understanding that the firm signs with the government.
Debate and accountability must co-exist, says leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday indicating that it would continue to obstruct the Parliament to demand Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal block allocations, the government is likely to make an attempt on Monday to convene an all-party meet to end the logjam.
The government on Friday launched a counter-offensive on the coal block allocation controversy maintaining that Comptroller and Auditor General's concept of presumptive loss was flawed and there was no loss because no mining has taken place as yet.
Will the current session of the Lok Sabha, which is witnessing turmoil due to Bhartiya Janta Party's demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the Coalgate, get adjourned sine die? As the deadlock between the United Progressive Alliance and BJP continues, the adjournment of the Lok Sabha sine die seems to be the only option left, notes Sheela Bhatt.
With the Opposition targeting the government over Comptroller and Auditor General report on coal allocation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is geared up to rebut in Parliament the charges, contending that there were 'inaccuracies' in the 'misleading' assessment of loss of Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
He replaced Vinod Rai, who superannuated on Wednesday after five-and-a-half years of eventful tenure as the head of CAG.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said it will continue to mount pressure to demand resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the government on the issue of CAG report on coal block allocation, in an indication that Parliament is likely to be stalled for the second successive day.
Union Minister Rajiv Shukla was on Tuesday caught in a controversy as he was heard telling Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House after the opposition created uproar over Comptroller and Auditor General report on coal blocks allotment to private firms.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) as a public-private partnership (PPP) project makes several valid points, but presents a seemingly factual but fundamentally misleading picture of the total financial outcome.
With the Comptroller and Auditor General reports on three critical sectors expected to be tabled in Parliament on Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has indicated that the government will effectively counter any Opposition attack on these issues.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha Tapan Sen, in an interview to Rediff.com, explains what he believes are the irregularities committed by Reliance Industries and how UPA government has allowed it to get away with it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday questioned the safety of the Signature Bridge in East Delhi after the Comptroller and Auditor General objected to allowing use of pre-fabricated steel frames imported from China for its construction. "It is a serious issue that there is no mechanism with the Delhi Government to check the quality of material and fabrication work being done in China. This raises concern about the safety of the bridge," BJP leader Vijay Goel said.
The Congress on Wednesday castigated the Bharatiya Janata Party for 'dragging' the name of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Commonwealth Games mess.
The Commonwealth Games mess rocked Parliament for the second day on Tuesday as opposition National Democratic Alliance stalled the Question Hour in both the Houses and demanded resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the wake Comptroller and Auditor General observations against her.
The government on Monday firmly rejected the Opposition's contention that the CAG had indicted the Prime Minister's Office on the Commonwealth Games issue and insisted that constitutional processes must be followed before blaming anyone.
With the Opposition gunning for Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi government on Monday claimed that there was no indictment of the chief minister or any other political leader in the report on Commonwealth Games projects by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Noting that the government has gone through the report of the CAG, Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said it has neither indicted Dikshit nor any other political personality.
Upping the ante, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation file a case against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the basis of the report of Comptroller and Auditor General which indicted her for alleged irregularities in several Commonwealth Games projects.
Communist party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat on Sunday said the letter from the Prime Minister's Office to Team Anna defending corruption allegations against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does not give any clarity on the matter.
Bharatiya Janjata Party veteran L K Advani's suggestion for a collegium to appoint Election Commissioners and Comptroller and Auditor General was on Tuesday backed by United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has found gross financial mismanagement and irregularities in the implementation of the National Rural Health Mission at almost every level in Uttar Pradesh.
Team Anna on Saturday clubbed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee with 13 other cabinet ministers, whom they accused of corruption, which the Congress dismissed as "unsubstantiated averments" that need not be responded to.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Saturday charged the Centre with attacking constitutional institutions working in the interest of the people and said it was harmful for the nation.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Tuesday criticised the roles of the Department of Space and its former secretary, G Madhavan Nair, in the Antrix-Devas deal, saying the deal was a "classic case of public investment for private profit".
It said Air India "accepted" that though the number of flights from Delhi "increased substantially.
Around 29,533 candidates who got registered at the state district employment exchanges are not likely to get jobs because of computer errors, caused by the staff at these exchanges, and usage of outdated technology, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Monday reported multiple irregularities in the accounts of units under the IT and telecom ministries, including purchases of hardware and software worth Rs 890 crore by NICSI in contravention of rules. In its audit report for financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged anomalies in the decision taken by state-run telecom firm BSNL, C-DoT, the Department of Posts, ITI Limited and CDAC that had adverse financial implications. "NICSI procured hardware and software costing Rs 890.34 crore through the 'Strategic Alliance' route in contravention of General Financial Rules, 2005 and departmental instructions and thus failed to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the procurement process," according to the CAG report tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday.
The government on Friday asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to suggest ways to curb its rising subsidy bill on food, fertiliser and petroleum products without hurting the targetted population.
In a draft audit report on the KG-DWN-98/3, or KG-D6, block, the Comptroller and Auditor General said the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons allowed Reliance to hike capital expenditure for developing Dhirubhai-1 and 3, the largest of 18 gas finds in the block, by 117 per cent.