The Hindu : National : PAC raps MEA for financial indiscipline

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Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
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PAC raps MEA for financial indiscipline

Special Correspondent

Poor budgeting and inadequate scrutiny of estimates
All property in Singapore had become dilapidated

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has come under fire for the second time in a fortnight for not keeping its house in order. A Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee report has called for a probe into mismanagement by the MEA of its property abroad. Earlier the Comptroller and Auditor-General had criticised it for not pursuing economic diplomacy with zeal.

The PAC report said the state of affairs “is indicative of poor budgeting, planning and inadequate scrutiny of estimates at various levels. The continuous increase in unspent funds indicates that the Ministry has been hiring more and more luxurious property abroad, entailing large rentals instead of investing in acquisition of property.”

As a result, all property in Singapore was dilapidated and the embassy residence declared unsafe by the local authorities, forcing the High Commissioner to live in rented accommodation.

In Tokyo, the Deputy Chief of Mission’s residence was also declared unsafe. No action was taken for 15 years despite visits by five delegations and letters from the embassy to the Ministry, urging action.

Though the Vienna Convention had made reciprocity the cornerstone of diplomatic relations between countries, the Ministry failed to acquire land from Ethiopia and Algeria on reciprocal basis after 46 and 20 years respectively. It failed to sell vacant property at four places, resulting in idling of capital. In one case, it misplaced the original sale agreement and lease deal, forcing the government to leave the vacant property in limbo. “These cases are ample proof of the state of affairs in the Ministry,” the report said.

Enquiry sought

Besides failing to shift to own premises in several countries, the MEA did not vacate leased residential accommodation in 10 centres despite an order that barred retention of accommodation beyond 90 days. The report, taking a “serious view of such an alarming trend of financial and administrative indiscipline,” sought enquiry into several cases and demanded to be apprised of follow-up action.

The Ministry said it had put in place corrective measures which “have yielded significant results.” A projects division was set up to improve property management and two separate five-year plans prepared for acquisition of built-up property and construction respectively.

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