The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India would audit income and expenditure accounts of the Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri between 1990 and 2015 and also Nabakalebar expenditures, sources said.
In a letter to Chief Secretary GC Pati sent last month, Principal Accountant General Amar Patnaik has mentioned that the CAG is all set to audit utilisation of grants availed to the temple every year from different Government sources as per the Sri Jagannath Temple Act 1995. Patnaik also wanted that the Government appoint the CAG as auditor, which is mandatory as per the Act, to audit temple accounts. Sources said a total of Rs47.4 crore has been given by the State Government to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for conduct of daily rituals in the last 25 years from 1990 to 2015. This apart, the Government has also provided Rs30 crore to meet Nabakalebar expenditure.
“While the Act provides for proper annual audit of incomes and expenditures, the SJTA has not yet appointed an auditor to do the same in these years. The transactions need to be audited as there is possibility of occurring of financial irregularities,” the CAG states in the letter. Meanwhile, SJTA Chief Administrator Suresh Mohapatra said, “Audit of accounts should be done after the Nabakalebar festival as all concerned are now engaged in various works relating to the festival. The audit should be done after three months.”
The Daitapati Nijog has also welcomed the CAG’s decision. “The Shree Jatannath Temple belongs to the country. Everybody has right to know about income and expenditure of the temple. Audit proposal is a welcome step,” said Daitapati Nijog chief Badagrahi Jagannath Swain Mohapatra.
In another development, State Culture Minister Ashok Panda told reporters that the Centre’s claim of giving Rs50 crore for Nabakalebar is not true. “The Union Government has approved Rs50 crore under the Prasad Scheme, which is yet to reach us,” he said.
Panda said this while reacting to Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma’s claim that the Centre has already doled out Rs50 crore for the grand festival. Sharma had said this during his visit here on Saturday.