Editorial

It’s Worrying When the Obvious Needs to be Recommended
The Annual Technical Inspection Report on Panchayati Raj Institutions [for the year 2009-10] by the Office of Accountant General (Audit), Sikkim, like all other CAG Reports, makes for interesting reading. The instances of oversights bordering on intentional embezzlement carry a dark humour in their stupefying disregard for prescribed processes. The lapses however stop being amusing when one sits back and realises that the cited instances were thrown up from random sample surveys; the sniggers choke up fast when it sinks in that a more detailed appraisal would be even more embarrassing in its findings.
The auditors conclude their inspection report by recording that the two major recommendations of the Twelfth Finance Commission Grants, viz transfer of assets of water supply and sanitation to PRIs and creation of database and computerisation of maintenance of accounts were not implemented even after lapse of five years [2005-10, the duration of the Twelfth Finance Commission]. Although a High Level Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary was appointed to monitor works, it dealt “very scantily” with issues related to PRIs. Rs. 13 crore was released to PRIs under the 12th Finance Commission Grants for operation and maintenance of water supply schemes and sanitation programmes between 2005 to 2010. It is another matter that the release of these funds by the Centre were enormously delayed [in one instance by a staggering two and half years], and the concerned Department in the State did not help matters by delivering still longer delays in onwards release of funds to the PRIs.
The panchayats, so handicapped, were understandably disorganised, and their potential for performance ruined by a recalcitrant parent department. The concept of Utilisation Certificates, for example, was completely lost on everyone and when pressure mounted for submission of these documents, the District Development Officers, since they had not obtained these certificates from the Gram Panchayats, went ahead and submitted utilisation certificates for the full amount of grants without any reference to the actual utilisation of funds. This Kafaesque scenario is barely salvaged by the fact that select panchayats in the State have still performed so well that they are now counted among the best in the country. But that is more due to the insistence of the stakeholders and the diligence of their representatives than the support of the concerned Department. There are many more specifics which will be shared more detail in forthcoming issues of the paper, but what should be already obvious is that it’s time to get worried when the Recommendations section of an audit appraisal lists out advice which should always have been obvious. The CAG appraisal recommends that: an effective system of obtaining utilisation certificates from PRIs be instituted; water supply and sanitation assets be handed over to the PRIs; Panchayats levy user charges for maintenance of these assets; and computerisation and creation of complete data base be taken up on priority. These, it needs to be stressed here, were the guiding principles of the 12th Finance Commission Grants under which the funds were released in the first place. How does one start hoping for improved performance by Panchayats and the Department when the very basics of what is required of them have proven so difficult to achieve?