Lieutenant Governor Flags Delay in CAG Reports, Calls It Violation of Constitutional Duties

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has flagged the delay in tabling of 11 Comptroller and Auditor General of India reports in the Delhi Assembly, saying it was a 'clear violation' of constitutional and legal provisions, Raj Niwas officials said on Friday.

In a letter to Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, the lieutenant governor pointed out that the 'lapse' by the Delhi government in laying the pending CAG reports before the assembly amounted to "gross dereliction of their constitutional obligations".

The 11 CAG reports on state finances, pollution mitigation, regulation and supply of liquor in Delhi, performance audit report on children in need of care and protection are pending with Delhi Finance Minister Atishi, the officials said.

Some of these reports are pending since 2022, they added.

The CAG report on 'Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi' for the 2017-18 to 2021-22 period was sent to the Delhi government on March 4, 2024, and it is pending with the minister since March 11, the officials further said.

The report was 'critical' in view of the 'controversy' on the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy of Delhi government, they said.

The CAG on July 18 informed the LG Secretariat that 11 of its reports were pending with the Delhi finance minister, the officials said.

The lieutenant governor also wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in February regarding the pendency of these reports and requested him to "advise the finance minister to expeditiously lay them before the assembly".

By not laying the reports, the Delhi government is 'avoiding scrutiny' by the legislative assembly and the public, undermining the very basis of democratic accountability, the lieutenant governor said in his letter to Goel.

"I would urge you to exercise your power and authority upon the Delhi government to ensure that necessary steps are taken under law for laying all pending GAG reports before the Delhi Assembly in the ensuing session without further delay," the lieutenant governor said.

Depriving the assembly from exercising its legislative control over the executive and avoiding the examination and scrutiny by the Committee on Public Accounts is a "clear violation" of the constitutional and legal provisions, he added.