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Compliance Performance

Karnataka

Report No. 5 of 2014 - Compliance and Performance Audit on Panchayat Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies of Government of Karnataka

Date on which Report Tabled:

Mon 14 Jul, 2014

Date of sending the report to Government

Government Type

Local Bodies

Local Body Types

Local Bodies

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Sector -

Overview

This Report contains four chapters. The first and the third chapter contain a summary of finances and financial reporting of Panchayat Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies, respectively. The second chapter contains observations arising out of performance and compliance audits of the Panchayat Raj Institutions. The fourth chapter contains one performance audit and five paragraphs based on the audit of financial transactions of Urban Local Bodies. A synopsis of the findings is presented in this overview.A review of finances of Panchayat Raj Institutions revealed that there was steady increase in the allocation of funds to Panchayat Raj Institutions by the State Government during the period 2008-13. The District Planning Committee meetings were not held regularly.

There was no mechanism at the apex level to oversee the devolution of functions to Panchayat Raj Institutions.No action was taken to revise the Activity Map. Balances under suspense heads of accounts were not reconciled. Utilisation certificates were not obtained from the implementing agencies.Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India for meeting the housing needs of the rural population. The Department of Housing, Government of Karnataka had entrusted the implementation of this Scheme to Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited.A performance audit of the Scheme for the period 2008-13 showed that only 3.43 lakh houses could be completed against the target of 6.64 lakh houses.Out of 5.74 lakh beneficiaries selected, 3.05 lakh (53 per cent) belonged to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe categories and minorities were 0.75 lakh(13 per cent), which was less than the stipulated targets of 60 and 15 per cent respectively.

Out of available funds of Rs.2,457.12 crore, a sum of Rs.2,158.67 crore(88 per cent) was utilised during 2008-13. Financial management was deficient as reconciliation was not done between cash book and bank balances. There were instances of loss of central assistance, delay in certifying the accounts and payments made to non-IAY beneficiaries. The entire fund of RS.215.81 crore, released under Homestead scheme, remained unfruitful as sites developed under the Scheme after incurring an expenditure of Rs.121.38 crore were not distributed to the beneficiaries.A permanent waiting list, as required, was not prepared. In 298 cases benefits had been extended to ineligible beneficiaries. The joint inspection of beneficiaries pointed out 76 cases of beneficiaries owning large houses and 89 beneficiaries using the assistance for constructing extensions to existing houses, indicating that these beneficiaries were not eligible under the Scheme.Information, Education and Communication activities were not conducted,and beneficiaries did not receive any technical assistance though stipulated in the guidelines. Efforts were not made to facilitate the beneficiaries in getting basic amenities through convergence of programmes. Monitoring of the implementation of the Scheme was not adequate.The Information Technology audit showed that there were instances of invalid,incomplete and blank data indicating poor input controls and rendering data unsuitable for decision-making process. The password control policy, audit trails, disaster recovery and business continuity plan were also absent. There was lack of transparency as the data was not accessible to the beneficiaries.

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Report No. 5 of 2014 - Karnataka Local Bodies Full PDF
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