A new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Bill, likely to be introduced in the next session of Parliament, will bring the institution of CAG under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
Talking to the media on the sidelines of the 25th Conference of Accountants General here on Monday, CAG of India Vinod Rai said the new Bill would seek to replace the CAG Act, 1971, and empower the institution to audit accounts of the panchayati raj institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and public-private partnership (PPP) entities.
“We want to prepare a new Act which has new models of administration and new delivery channels to bring them into the legal mandate. The new Bill is being vetted by the Law Ministry and will go to the Cabinet for approval,” he said, pointing out that it is unlikely to be taken up in the current session of Parliament. Mr. Rai said the CAG's role has expanded from a mere auditor of financial transactions to that of a promoter of the government's performance and a powerful trustee of public good. He termed the lack of adequate and timely action by the Executive on audit findings and the difficulties in enforcing free and unfettered access to records major challenges that needed to be met.
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