Autonomy to loot?

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected huge financial irregularities in the various autonomous councils, development councils and development authorities in Assam. Its recent report says most of them have not submitted their annual accounts. Non-submission of accounts by autonomous councils, development councils and development authorities is 'violative' of prescribed financial rules and directives, and this in turn points to inadequate internal control and deficient monitoring mechanism of the state government, the CAG has observed. According to reports, the Assam government had during 2014-2019 given a whopping Rs 1,176 crore to six autonomous councils, 31 development councils and 24 development authorities. While the government had in 2014 itself asked the CAG to conduct audits of these councils, the latter however reportedly could not conduct its audit work due to non-finalization of terms and conditions as well as non-submission of annual accounts. It is surprising that it was only in January 2020 that the state finance department assured the CAG that it would complete all formalities for formal entrustment of the autonomous councils, development councils and issue direction to entities concerned to submit their accounts without delay. Why such an inordinate delay on the part of the government has no explanation as of now. While it was the duty of the state government – irrespective of whichever party or alliance is in power – to ensure that a mechanism was put in place to ascertain that every rupee allocated to these councils reached the poor tribal people, the reality seems to be that it is only facilitating creation of a bunch of powerful and rich people in every community at the expense of the basic needs of the ethnic communities. During the said five-year period (2014-19) the Lalung (Tiwa) Autonomous Council got Rs 180 crore, Mising Autonomous Council got Rs 330 crore, Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council got Rs 248 crore, all the 31 development councils got Rs 77 crore and the 24 development authorities got Rs 5 crore each. Is it not the duty of the Chiefs of these councils and authorities to make public how and where each of them has spent the money and what has been the outcome of these expenditures? Assam has a very horrible memory of how the NC Hills Autonomous Council had indulged in gross financial irregularities and corruption with a section of politicians forming an unholy nexus with unscrupulous officers, contractors and armed criminal gangs till a few years ago. One can only hope that all these councils and authorities have not emulated the example of NC Hills Autonomous Council.