The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday denied allegations of misappropriation, after AP Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Payyavula Keshav raked up a controversy by seeking a full-fledged audit of the state Finance Department. Payyavula Keshav had alleged that large sums in excess of Rs 41,000 crore remained unaccounted for. The PAC Chairman had met Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan at Raj Bhavan on Thursday and submitted a memorandum alleging gross discrepancies in the accounts for financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21. The PAC Chairman had attached a letter written by Principal Accountant General (PAG) Lata Mallikarjuna to Principal Finance Secretary Shamsher Singh Rawat on the alleged discrepancies, in his memorandum.
Responding to the allegations, Principal Finance Secretary Shamsher Singh Rawat on Friday, July 9, refuted the allegations made by Payyavula Keshav. Rawat said that the issues raised by the auditor have "arisen due to operation of adjustment transactions". "Funds released to Personal Deposit Accounts, which could not be utilised by the end of the financial year, lapsed as per the Andhra Pradesh Financial Code. The adjustments (were) made among the PD accounts. Failed payments were also reprocessed," Rawat said.
Citing some other reasons, the official said that all transactions were carried out in accordance with the procedure and provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Treasury and Financial Code. "This is being informed to the Principal Accountant General," Rawat said.
In the letter to the Principal Finance Secretary SS Rawat, the Principal Accountant General had said that they had noticed that 10,806 bills involving Rs 41,043.08 crore were drawn under a ‘special bill’ category, without adhering to codal provisions. The bills did not have any details of classification, drawing and disbursing officer, beneficiary details, sanction or vouchers, the Principal Accountant General said.
"Due to non-availability of the details for the said amount, the genuineness of the claims is susceptible of verification. This depicts defective internal controls in the system of processing payments," the PAG had noted, seeking urgent remedial measures and plugging of loopholes in the system, considering the magnitude of the amount and the likely risks.
The PAG stressed that strict enforcement of codal provisions to avoid such unusual withdrawals was required. Of the total payments that were highlighted by the PAG, over Rs 40,000 crore were made under the category ‘AP Capital Region’ through 3,667 bills during the year 2020-21. Addressing the media, the PAC Chairman had said, “The government should answer how Rs 41,000 crore went unaccounted for. Has it happened by mistake or deliberate choice?” That there were no accounts available for such huge amounts could not be a mistake, Keshav had remarked.