Until now, annual reports of ministries were image-building exercises for ministers at the expense of the exchequer. That is about to change.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ordered all ministries to include in their annual reports for 2004-05 a special annexure containing audit observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) giving a critique of the ministry’s performance.These reports will then be placed before standing committees attached to each ministry with—with adequate representation from Opposition parties—to take a close, hard look at the ministry’s performance.The Finance Ministry has alerted all other ministries about the new rules. The idea is that annual reports should give a ‘‘realistic and credible’’ view of a ministry’s performance, without hushing up the bad news. It would also speed up discussion on the performance of various government departments, how far are they behind schedule.Annual reports have traditionally been glossy publications with flattering pictures of the ministry accompanied by his ‘‘Message’’ and a list of achievements.The reports will now be obliged to carry the CAG’s inputs with audit objections, a mention of projects that have slipped up, government funds that have leaked and also a list of audit objections from previous years that the ministry failed to justify.Speaking to The Indian Express, CAG V N Kaul said : ‘‘It has been an idea that has been worked upon and the CAG has committed to forward these inputs to all ministries which will then have to be carried alongwith the annual reports of ministries in the form that we forward them.’’He said that the CAG’s seal on these inputs would help promote more transparency in the functioning of the ministries. The Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance would coordinate the effort.What this will also do is to speed up Parliamentary discussion on how public funds are used.So far the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was the body that looked at the CAG’s reports and sought explanations from various government departments. The PAC’s efforts have been slow and it is currently several years behind the actual CAG reports which are tabled in Parliament. As such the mechanism of fixing responsibility of government officials who have slipped up in performing their duties is completely skewed with officials having long retired by the time the PAC looks at the CAG’s report on that Department.The new system, sources explain, would improve accountability of ministries as well as officials.
