The State Legislature’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday directed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a special audit into the purchase of COVID-19 equipment within 15 days.
Former Congress Minister and PAC chairman H.K. Patil has chaired a meeting of the panel and instructed the CAG to constitute a special team of its employees to get the audit of all purchases of COVID-19 equipment.
The panel has also asked the CAG to conduct audit of expenditure incurred by the State government under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). The government had used the SDRF amount for purchase of equipment in various districts of the State.
TheCongress has alleged that the government has siphoned funds by purchasing inferior quality of PET kits, sanitizers, ventilators, masks and other equipment related to COVID-19 at prices higher than prevailing in the market.
Mr. Patil, who petitioned the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission about alleged violation of rights of the people while providing treatment to patients, demanded a comprehensive audit report from the CAG on the procedure followed to procure equipment, price, and quality.
The Congress alleged a scam to the tune of ₹2,000 crore in the purchase of COVID-19 equipment while the government denied it and termed the charge politically motivated.
Published - August 04, 2020 03:38 pm IST
