Criticising the State Government for its dual stand on Vyapam, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Friday said auditors were stopped from accessing records on grounds that it was not a Government body.
"While the MP Government disowned and distanced itself from Vyapam, it was in full control of the examination board for all practical purposes," the audit watchdog observed.
"The shadowy control on Vyapam has led to a situation where there was severe erosion in the credibility of exams conducted by board," stated CAG report tabled on Friday.
It was pointed out that the board was constituted with confusion over its status which persists till date. The State Government in the notification of 1982 declared that it would not be responsible for any act of Vyapam. However, the status of Board as a Government Department was accepted thereafter, which was also confirmed by the law Department of MP during various inter-departmental deliberations.
The appointments of director and controller in the Board were made by systemic subversion of rules resulting in undue favour being shown to certain individuals. Yogesh Uprit and Dr Pankaj Trivedi were appointed Director and Controller respectively directly on orders of the then Minister in contraventions of the rules.
The Government did not allow us access of Vapam records in 2015 and 2016, stating that it was not a Government body, added CAG.
The posts of chairman, director and controller in the board were filled by the transfer of State Government officers and funds of the Government were utilised at the instance of the Government.