BHUBANESWAR: Even as the rules mandate reporting of losses or shortage of public money, departmental revenue, receipts and other government property for audit scrutiny, several departments have been found violating the provisions and keeping the accountant general (AG) in the dark, leading to potential loss to the state exchequer.
The accountant general of Odisha has flagged serious discrepancies in compliance, observing that many departments are not reporting cases of misappropriation, theft, fraud and other losses as required under Odisha General Financial Rules (OGFR), 2023.
In a recent communication to the Finance department, the deputy accountant general drew attention to Rule 47(1) of OGFR, which makes it mandatory for all departments to report any loss or shortage of public money or government property whether arising from misappropriation, defalcation, theft, fire or fraud to the AG without fail.
Along with reporting of losses irrespective of the causes or whether the amount has been recovered, the departments should also forward a report or abstract of the full inquiry to the AG for examination as per Rule 50.
But despite clear provisions, the AG has noted laxity in compliance as many departments have been found not furnishing details of pending cases of losses to the government. In the State Finances Audit Report (SFAR) for 2023-24, data on misappropriation, losses and theft were reported by only 22 departments as others failed to furnish details. “Non-reporting of cases carries the risk of losses to the government not being reflected in the audit report,” the letter stated.
Audit analysis revealed that 719 cases of misappropriation, losses and theft of government property were reported in the SFAR as of March 2021. The number marginally dipped to 711 in subsequent reports for 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. However, a significant number of these cases remain unaddressed, raising concerns over delayed corrective measures and departmental actions.
“It was noticed that departments were not furnishing updated data on the cases to the office of the accountant general. This raises apprehension that actions deemed fit were not initiated for longer periods, indicating systemic lapses in the internal control system,” the deputy AG observed.
Financial experts said non-reporting delays corrective measures, weakens fiscal accountability and hampers efforts to fix responsibility on erring officials.
Meanwhile, to plug the gaps, the AG has urged the Finance department to direct all departments to immediately furnish updated information on all pending cases of loss of public funds or property, including incidents of misappropriation, theft, fraud, fire and defalcation on time to ensure proper scrutiny and inclusion in the upcoming SFAR 2024-25.
