The controversial CAG audit on the three power discoms in the Capital may take a while to formally begin. Calling the letter received from the Delhi Government as ‘vague’, discoms are fretting about the criteria for the selection of a ‘nodal officer’ from their end. Even as the three discoms were issued audit notifications on Tuesday, a formal reply from their end is still awaited, claimed sources in the power department.
“There is no clarity on how the nodal officer is to be chosen. The letter only says that the CAG would like to audit our accounts for the entire period since 2002. While the additional secretary of power is the nodal officer from the Government, we were asked to choose our own nodal officer. But from which department and of what rank the officer is supposed to be is unclear,” said discoms. Moreover, the Government’s communication to the discoms did not specify any time frame or methodology for carrying out the audit.
Meanwhile, the Tata-owned power discom is slated to reply to the Government’s notification on Monday. “The nodal officer from our company has not been finalised yet. We will be formally replying to the Government’s letter tomorrow,” said Praveer Sinha, CEO, Tata Power Delhi. Ankur Garg, additional secretary (power), has been appointed by the Delhi Government as the nodal officer who will correspond with the principal accountant, general (audit), Delhi.
Government officials, however, have quashed the claims of the discoms and have maintained that any senior official can be made the nodal officer. “It is no big hurdle. Any senior officer of the company who can provide us with the accounts and data of the discom can become a nodal officer. We have given them full liberty to choose their own officer,” said a senior official in the power department. According to sources in these utilities, the companies are expected to write to the Government asking it to inform them what areas will be covered and what will be the scope of this audit.