Has CAG given up its tough posture?

NEW DELHI: What prevented the Comptroller and Auditor General from quantifying the losses to the exchequer in the KG basin contract and Air India decisions may never be known.

But from the way the federal auditor conducted itself on the day the reports were tabled, one thing was clear — there seems to have been a rethink about the posture adopted by the constitutional authority in recent months.

From its almost devilmay-care attitude, calculating the presumptive losses in 2G spectrum allocation, and holding forth on live television , the CAG was almost coy on Thursday. So, there were no TV cameras and live telecast as the CAG briefed media about three audit reports tabled in Parliament — the audit of oil exploration contracts, especially of KG basin given to Reliance Industries, the aircraft purchase for Air India /Indian Airlines and their integration, as well as on defence matters.

CAG officials were impatient with persistent media questions, and limited the number of questions too. The CAG conduct, without live telecast of its findings, and without estimates of humongous losses to the exchequer, was significantly subdued in comparison to the recent past, when it held forth on the findings of 2G spectrum allocations and the Commonwealth Games etc.

CAG officials justified the absence of a specific figure on estimate of losses, especially in the KG basin contract, saying they were beyond the audit norms. “Estimating loss was not within the scope of our audit ,” Rekha Gupta, deputy CAG, said.
Though speculation was rife about the huge losses to the exchequer caused by the way the entire KG basin contract was handled, and the possibility of CAG quantifying it, the final report was clearly silent on a specific figure. To give credit where it is due, the audit has come down heavily on the government for approving the rise in capital expenditure from $2.4 billion to $8.8 billion for KG basin exploration.

CAG has been under attack from the UPA government ever since its 2G spectrum audit, with the presumptive losses at the maximum estimated at Rs 1,76,000 crore, was released with much fanfare.
In June, even the Prime Minister criticized the CAG for holding press conferences and said it was unusual for it to comment on policy issues. The government had also rubbished the presumptive loss estimates.