New Delhi:
A CAG report for the yr ending March 2021 has flagged “persistent delays” within the finalisation of the Courtroom of Inquiry proceedings within the Military, and cited that out of 95 instances involving monetary loss in three instructions, stipulated timeline for meeting and completion of CoI was met “solely in 46 and 25 instances”.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor Common of India on Union authorities (Defence Companies-Military) was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday.
This report accommodates the outcomes of audit of the transactions of Ministry of Defence pertaining to the Division of Defence, Military, Navy Engineer Companies, Border Roads Organisation, and Defence Analysis and Growth Organisation in 2020-21, as per the assertion on it issued by the CAG.
It additionally audited the functioning of the Remount and Veterinary Companies and Utilisation of Animal Transport Models.
The Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC), headed by Director Common Remount Veterinary Companies (DG RVS), is accountable for breeding, rearing, coaching and managing well being of your entire equine and canine inhabitants within the Indian Military.
“Audit lined the interval from 2018-19 to 2020-21 which included the interval of thirteenth Military Plan (2017-22). Audit noticed that the thirteenth Plan for RVS didn’t embody functionality growth and modernisation facets,” the assertion stated.
The audit was additionally on ‘Courtroom of Inquiry in Indian Military’, ‘Elevating of Porter Firms in Japanese Command’, and ‘Administration of Water Provide by Navy Engineer Companies’, amongst others.
“There have been persistent delays in finalisation of the CoI (Courtroom of Inquiry) proceedings in Indian Military. Out of 95 instances involving monetary loss within the three Military Instructions (Central Command, Japanese Command and Western Command), stipulated timeline for meeting and completion of CoI was met solely in 46 and 25 instances respectively,” the CAG stated within the assertion.
In 11 instances, time taken in completion of CoI was “greater than two years and even as much as 11 years,” it flagged.
“In 10 CoIs associated to fireplace incidents the place the Command HQs have been authorised to convene a CoI, the convening order was issued by an authority decrease than the Command HQs. The phrases of reference (ToR) which lay down the scope of investigation for a CoI didn’t have particular point out of fixation of accountability and apportioning of blame/loss in 29 instances,” the assertion stated.
“Additional, in 28 out of those 29 instances, there was no point out of the related Military Guidelines, Orders, Directions, and so on., and in 13 of those 29 instances, no point out was product of assessing the extent of loss and harm to life/property,” the audit physique stated.
The assertion additional stated that in 95 instances, CoI assessed “monetary lack of Rs 50.76 crore”.
“The monetary losses of Rs 7.12 crore have been regularised in respect of 43 instances (April 2022). Nonetheless, in 52 instances involving monetary lack of Rs 43.64 crore, the knowledge regarding regularisation of loss by Competent Monetary Authority was not out there,” the assertion stated.
“In 57 out of 95 instances, the required paperwork regarding intimation of particulars of loss to accounting authorities, that’s, Controllers of Defence Accounts (CsDA), weren’t out there within the paperwork furnished. As such, Audit was unable to establish whether or not the loss was reported to CsDA both initially or lastly after investigation,” it added.
In 20 out of 38 remaining instances, the place the Instructions/Models furnished particulars of economic losses to the involved CsDA after completion of CoI, “the time taken in reporting of losses to CsDA ranged between three months and greater than two years,” it flagged.
On the functioning of the Remount and Veterinary Service, it additional stated that “three out of the six short-term coaching objectives” as per the Technical Coaching Directive of RVS, associated to import of frozen semen of confirmed elite stallions from European international locations to improve the sporting potential of Military equines; coaching of raptors to seek out drones or surveillance gadgets; and coaching of native breeds of canines to evaluate their suitability for employment as navy working canines, have been “both not achieved or under-achieved”.
On the audit associated to the elevating of Porter Firms in Japanese Command, the audit physique stated the Ministry of Defence sanctioned (June 2019) elevating of 9 Porter Firms (Coys) within the space of accountability (AoR) below the Headquarters Japanese Command (HQ EC) for the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 at a price of Rs 180.85 crore and for the yr 2021-22, at a price of Rs 93.78 crore.
“Out of whole 12,000 porters employed below the Porter Coys raised between 2019-20 and 2021-22, Corps HQ allotted 11,297 porters to ETFs/Engineer Regiments. Division HQ additional allotted solely 7,938 porters to ETFs/Engineer Regiments. As such, 3,359 porters have been deployed in models aside from Engineer Regiments. Out of seven,938 porters deployed, the utilisation certificates rendered by the Engineer Regiments have been solely in respect of 4,634 porters,” it stated.
The report additionally flagged “unwarranted expenditure attributable to delay in termination of bandwidth companies” by the Canteen Shops Division.
The report additionally mentions instances of avoidable expenditure of Rs 3.20 crore on account of not following the IRC specification in street markings, and sanctioning comparable nature of works below totally different code heads.
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