Jal Board did not produce accounts for audit, CAG informs the Delhi High Court

Despite multiple written correspondences, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) informed the Delhi high court last month that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had failed to furnish its accounts for audit.

The CAG filed the affidavit in response to a request from BJP leader Harish Khurana for the CAG to audit the DJB’s books, claiming that there had been no audit in the previous six years.

CAG stated in an affidavit presented before a bench consisting of chief judge DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh that they were not negligent because DJB had not provided them with their accounts in the first place.

“The office sent many letters to the Delhi Jal Board and higher levels of the Delhi government, requesting accounts for audit.” The audit could not be completed since the accounts were not made accessible for audit,” the central auditing agency stated.

According to the CAG, seven pending accounts prior to the financial year 2015-16 were audited in the previous six years, but the remainder of the accounts were not made accessible to them.

“The audit could not be completed because the accounts were not made available for audit.” “The replying respondent (CAG) pledges to conclude the Audit of Delhi Jal Board as speedily as feasible after receiving the accounts of Delhi Jal Board,” CAG stated.

Meanwhile, DJB responded to Khurana’s petition, claiming that it was “politically motivated.” It stated that the DJB’s accounts were kept “diligently.”

According to DJB, the CAG audited the final accounts and balance sheet for the fiscal year 2014-15, on which the final accounts and balance sheet for the fiscal year 2015-16 were prepared. It was to be presented to the board for approval at the next board meeting before being referred to the office of the principal accountant general (audit) for the audit.

“As a result, because the accounts for 2014-15 were recently reviewed by the CAG in August 2021, the accounts for 2015-16 have been updated and finalized, integrating the inputs from the audited accounts of 2014-15… “However, it is inaccurate to state that the Respondent No. 2 (DJB) has not maintained accounts, inasmuch as they have maintained all accounts as required by law to date, and only require finalization in terms of the audited accounts of the previous year before being submitted for audit,” according to the DJB’s response.

DJB questioned the plea’s legality, claiming that Khurana submitted the petition based on RTIs filed by a third party.

The case was scheduled for hearing on Monday, but it was postponed due to the judge’s absence.

According to Khurana’s plea, the copy of the balance sheet for the years 2015-16 and onward was explicitly indicated in response to RTIs dated May 11, May 24, and July 22 this year.

The petitioner was approaching the court with the petition because the authorities had failed to perform the functions required by law, according to the plea.

“In order to ensure successful functioning of state and municipal authorities, it is required to maintain financial accounts and perform an annual audit of the accounts.” The petition stated that “keeping financial accounts and conducting an annual audit of the accounts helps to ensure accountability and transparency of state and local governments in their dealings with the general public.”