PDP-BJP
coalition’s another dubious first: CAG report not tabled in House
House Committee reports, annual reports of
commissions were also not tabled in House; Cabinet kept 17 important Bills
pending
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
________
JAMMU, Feb 3: Cabinet spokesperson and Minister of Education
Naeem Akhtar’s claim that the Presiding Officers adjourned the Legislature’s budget
session sine die a week before the
schedule only after ascertaining that “no more important business was still pending”,
appears to be remarkably far from truth.
Sources in the Cabinet disclosed to STATE TIMES that the
draft of as many as 17 important Bills was supposed to be approved by the
Cabinet on February 1st at 3.00 pm. All these Bills would have come
up for consideration and passage in Legislative Assembly, followed by Legislative
Council, on the next four days of the Business. Even the Cabinet meeting, of
which the agenda had been circulated, could not be convened as Chief Minister
Mehbooba Mufti diverted to a party function in Jammu and conveyed her
reluctance to chair the same at Civil Secretariat in the afternoon on Wednesday.
“Immediately after the Opposition created ruckus in both
Houses of Legislature over the Speaker’s announcement that he would examine the
records and expunge if there was anything objectionable in the CM’s Monday
speech, it was made clear to both the Presiding Officers that the CM was no
more interested in continuation of the session”, sources in the Cabinet said.
Taking a cue, Speaker of Legislative Assembly and Chairman of Legislative
Council adjourned the session sine die,
leaving much of the scheduled business unfinished.
The Budget had been already passed but none of the
legislative businesses could be conducted. Even the Question Hour on many days
of the session remained completely disturbed.
The Bills which failed to pass through legislation include
replacement of J&K Panchayat Raj Ordinance of 2016 which authorises Chief
Electoral Officer to conduct Panchayat elections in absence of the State
Election Commission. The Commission has not been constituted in Jammu and
Kashmir till date. “Since the Ordinance has enough time to expire on completion
of six months, we will be able to hold the Panchayat elections in March-April
as per the powers given to CEO by the Ordinance”, said a Minister.
Sources in the bureaucracy revealed that the 17 Bills which
remained pending for legislation included some of the very important laws.
Even as a motion was adopted by so-called voice vote amid
bedlam in the Assembly on Wednesday, none of the Financial Committees like
Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee and Public Undertakings
Committee, could be constituted. Secretary Assembly Mohammad Ramzan agrees that
these are statutory panels and need to be constituted with all nominations by
the Legislature. He, however, added that Assembly went by the practice of last
several years whereby respective political parties submit names of their
legislators and the Speaker constitutes the committees accordingly.
Even the all-important annual audition reports of
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) were not tabled in Assembly or
Council this time. Secretary Assembly said that it was second time in his
memory that such businesses remained unfinished and the reports, including the
CAG report, were not tabled. He said similar situation occurred once when
Ghulam Nabi Azad was Chief Minister and due to a pandemonium, the Budget
session was adjourned sine die in
advance by Speaker Tara Chand in 2007 or 2008.
However, former Secretary of Law and Legislative Council,
Mohammad Ashraf Mir, asserted that it was for the first time that the CAG
reports, besides other annual reports, were not tabled in the Legislature in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Secretary Assembly admitted that none of the Assembly’s own
House Committee reports or those of J&K State Public Service Commission,
J&K State Vigilance Commission, J&K Accountability Commission, J&K
State Human Rights Commissions, annual reports of important PSUs and the CAG
reports could not be tabled even as all these were ready and available with the
Assembly and the Council Secretariat.
Under Article 148 and 149 of the Constitution of India, all the
Central reports of CAG have to be tabled in the Budget session of the
Parliament and all the State reports in respective State Legislatures.
While the Principal Auditor General (PAG) of Jammu and
Kashmir, Mr Huveda Abbas, is currently with a UN audit in United States of
America, the Accountant General and incharge PAG, K Subramanium, said that as
per the rules and the procedure, he had submitted the CAG reports to Governor several
days before the commencement of the Budget session in December 2016.
“Since the State Legislature under rules is the first
audience, none of the CAG reports can be made public or published until the
same are tabled in the House. Now this has to be done in the next session.
Thereafter, these reports will be discussed for remedial actions by the Public
Accounts Committee”, Mr Subramaniam told STATE TIMES.
Officials in PAG’s office said that the CAG reports
submitted by them had been long back approved by the Governor and forwarded to
Assembly and the Council Secretariats through Finance Department. “These could
have been tabled any day in the last one month of the session. We fail to
understand why the Government waits for the last day of the session”, said an
officer.
END
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