To hold State level rally today
The Punjab Government’s decision to make private agencies auditing the accounts of all panchayats has failed to find favour with the village level institutions. The panchayats have come on a single platform to protest against the State Government’s move maintaining that the same would result in increasing corruption.
Protesting against handling over the responsibility of conducting audit of panchayats’ accounts to the private auditors, Punjab’s Panchayat Union on Monday decided to hold a State-level rally on Tuesday — that is October 7, at Mohali. For the purpose, the Union has invited all panchayat representatives to join in huge numbers.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the where the representatives condemned the action of the government to get the accounts of panchayat audited from the private auditors. They argued, and expressed their concern that handing over of the audit and review of panchayat accounts to private auditors would increase corruption in the panchayats.
Of late, the state government has decided to get the accounts of all village panchayats conducted. The state’s Rural and Panchayat Development minister Sikander Singh Maluka had ordered that one chartered accountant (CA) would be given the audit work of the villages falling under two blocks. For the purpose, over 54 CAs had been assigned for the task in the State.
It was decided that the funds received under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) would also be audited and action would be taken against anyone found guilty of misappropriation of funds. The State Government has also decided to put up display boards regarding the grants sanctioned so that these were not misused by any public functionary or the Government official.