The Telugu Desam Legislature Party (TDLP) on Thursday appealed to Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan to direct a full-fledged audit of the State Finance Department by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in view of alleged “accounting lapses involving ₹41,000 crore public funds during 2020-21.”
The TDLP also urged the Governor to get a complete audit done of the overall finances during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.
TDP MLA and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Payyavula Keshav met and submitted a memorandum to the Governor in this regard.
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In the representation, Mr. Keshav said, “Any payments or receipts of the government are to be routed through the Treasuries and the Accounts Department in a transparent manner, and any deviations will have devastating consequences. It has come to my notice that large sums, to the extent of ₹40,000 crore, have not been accounted for as per the provisions.”
Later, addressing the media, Mr. Keshav said that the government should be answerable to the public and to the Assembly as to why there were no vouchers, no receipts and no bills of any sort for ₹41,043.08 crore spendings.
“In any government set-up, accounts should be maintained for every single rupee. An employee would have to obtain approvals and signatures for a government transaction of just ₹100. The Finance Department was not able to show proper accounts for thousands of crores of rupees,” he alleged.
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The Governor had promised to look into the matter, Mr. Keshav said.