State committed to transparency: Naveen

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said the State Government has been unrelenting in its efforts to eradicate corruption so that the benefits of development percolate down to the least privileged. At a function to mark the 150th anniversary of CAG here, Naveen said without probity and integrity in public life, the system of governance cannot deliver. Stating that he believed in rule of law and in the concept of vigilance, Naveen said sending a strong message to the corrupt public servants, the State Government has decided to use their confiscated properties for public purpose. The Chief Minister welcomed the change in the audit process, focus of which significantly changed over the last few years. The CAG is now more focused on the systemic aspects of problems rather than on individual aberrations, through performance audits, he said. Naveen said while individuals should be punished for their mala fide intentions and wrong doings, the process of delivery of goods and services will help people greatly if systemic lapses are pointed out. Stating that a major hurdle in the process of audit is the non-availability of required documents and records on time, Naveen said this hampered quality of audit and wastes resources. In the age of RTI and citizen activism, this delay serves no purpose, he said adding that the State Government was committed to the process of transparency and would try to ensure that there was no undue delay in submitting records to audit for scrutiny. The replies to audit inquiries must also be submitted within the prescribed time frame, he said. Addressing the function, Arun Kumar Singh, the Principal Accountant General, threw light on evaluation of CAG’s organisation across the years. Amar Patnaik, Accountant General, expressed concern over lack of ethics in governance and hoped that politicians and bureaucrats should follow ethics in executing jobs.Chairman of Indian Institute of Public Administration, Odisha chapter, Sanjeev Chandra Hota, former minister Panchanan Kanungo, Finance Secretary JK Mohapatra and former DGP and chairman of the Staff Selection Commission Gopal Chandra Nanda spoke.