CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu had relieved D Jaisankar, director general of audit (DGA) who oversaw the audit directorates of the state government, from his post due to the alleged delay caused by him in disposing of audit objections against officials in their service files. The delay triggered unrest among government staff, sources said. Jaisankar, originally attached to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office, was sent on deputation to Tamil Nadu in 2022.
Official sources also attributed Jaisankar’s repatriation to the CAG by the state to his decisions to centralise the operations of the audit directorates. As many as 69 officers in block development officer (BDOs) and assistant director rank could not be allowed to retire from service over the past 60 days across Tamil Nadu due to the delay in disposing of audit objections in their service files, an official said. The government’s decision is also seen as an attempt to pacify government employees as there has been a simmering discontentment over the creation of the DGA position by the state.
Jaisankar, an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, was entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the audit functions of milk cooperatives, local funds, HR & CE and few other audit directorates in the state government. The post was created through a government order and not under any legislation. PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was the minister of finance when the position was created.
For several years, audit objections and observations raised against local bodies and officials by the local fund audit department were handled by regional joint directors. The offices of the joint directorates at the district levels accept explanations from BDOs, superintendents, assistant engineers, panchayat secretaries, and others in most cases, and dismiss objections a year or so before the retirement of the staff.
However, DGA Jaisankar centralised the system and made approval from his office mandatory for clearing audit objections. “A large number of files of pending audit objections against staff and officials got piled up at his office for months. This resulted in the delay of retirement of 69 government officials in two months. About 300 to 350 employees have been affected in receiving retirement benefits over last six months,” an official said.
Until a few years ago, audit units of milk cooperatives, HR & CE, local fund audit, and others have been functioning under their respective head of the departments. However, in 2020, to enhance audit effectiveness and promote transparency in administration, these audit operations were brought under the finance department.
The state government allocated Rs 1.48 crore towards annual expenses of the DGA office. Apart from overseeing the audit units, Jaisankar was also engaged in training employees on best practices in auditing followed by the CAG.
An official from one of the audit directorates said, “There is no rationale in spending huge money in training audit staff who are in the age group of 57 and 58. A complete modernisation and computerisation of administrative system will gradually improve audit efficiency.”