The Directorate of Local Fund Audit (DLFA) discovered various irregularities in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council’s (GHADC) use of Central funds obtained under the Special Assistance Grant (SAG) system.
On February 18, the DLFA presented its report to the District Council Affairs (DCA) department.
The GHADC has failed to repay the majority of the funds diverted for salary payments, according to a top DLFA government official.
Meanwhile, the DLFA auditors discovered that the council’s developmental projects did not correspond to the budgeted amount.
“The audit team found that the work is not as per the amount sanctioned. Projects were claimed to be implemented but the audit team did not find anything during spot inspection,” the DLFA official said.
Moreover, the study also found that the council had paid the contractors in advance, but the project had not been completed.
The audit of the accounting report for the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) was presented on December 23 of last year. The council had temporarily shifted monies obtained under the SAG plan for the payment of worker salaries, according to this report.
Despite the fact that the state government took over the operation of such schools in 1994, official sources say the council is still appointing primary school instructors.
“We detected that a large chunk of the funds in the JHADC was spent on the salaries of these teachers. The JHADC will need to answer how it is continuing to appoint teachers when the administration of primary schools is now with the state government,” the DLFA official said.
DLFA audit in Both Councils for 10 years
Moreover, both councils’ accounts will be audited for a period of ten years. The auditors were tasked with looking into the accounts of the previous decade, not just the Rs 264 crore allocated by the Centre for infrastructure development.
The audit was undertaken after the BJP put pressure on the administration, alleging misuse of central special grants in both councils. The auditing also included the previous Congress’s tenure.
The state government tasked the DLFA with conducting the exercise in September 2020, but it had to wait for the Finance Department’s approval.
The DCA department had asked the DLFA to investigate the use of monies received from the Centre under the SAG scheme.
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