PUC panel pulls up officials over pending audit objections

Assembly Public Undertakings Committee Chairman Kuna Ravi Kumar on Saturday raised concern over delays in clearing audit objections and finalising annual accounts of public sector bodies in the district. He warned officials that he would not tolerate negligence in audit management.

At a review meeting, he examined audit objections and financial statements of departments under VMRDA, GCC, Andhra University, and EPDCL. He directed officials to finish all reports within the set timeframe. The panel also reviewed annual accounts and the Accountant General’s observations for 2017-18 to 2021-22.

Ravi Kumar said several departments have left audit objections pending for years. Therefore, he told officials to conduct audits every financial year as per norms and meet deadlines. He added that delays in preparing accounts or submitting reports would lead to action.

Further, he asked departments to discuss issues in board meetings and review audit paras regularly. Since VMRDA functions like a financial institution, it must handle transactions with discipline and transparency, he said. Otherwise, even small lapses in accounts could cause serious financial and administrative problems.

He then directed officials to clear all pending audit objections within a fixed timeframe. In addition, he asked them to submit future reports with complete and clear details.

Turning to legal matters, Ravi Kumar urged officials to speed up the resolution of court cases. He also suggested mediation where possible. At present, 835 court cases and 141 audit reports remain pending, he noted, and said this could affect financial progress and plans.

Finally, he reviewed the financial activities of GCC, Andhra University, and EPDCL. Committee members and senior officials attended the meeting.