CAG to restart audit of CWG expenses Oct. 15
The government auditor CAG will restart audit of expenses incurred for hosting controversy-marred Commonwealth Games on October 15 — a day after the closing ceremony — and would submit report within three months.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had suspended the CWG auditing works in September and the work would resume after the end of the Games, a government official said on condition of anonymity.
The CAG had begun vetting the Games’ expenditure in August. The audit work for CWG is related to work payments, contracts and leasing of sports equipment among others.
The official said the report would be submitted to the government by January-end and they expect it to be presented in the Budget session of Parliament in February.
The official said that auditing of works is half-way and the works have been suspended as the CAG inspection department could not access the premises of Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
Over 7,000 athletes and other staff from 71 nations are participating in the CWG being held in the National Capital between October 3-14.
In August last year, the CAG had submitted an evaluation report to the Prime Minister’s Office and the sports ministry pointing out the slow pace of progress of all the projects connected with the Games.
The CAG study last year had also highlighted that all the projects would struggle to finish on time.
As per international guidelines, all Commonwealth Games projects were to be completed by May 2009 and the last year should have been kept for trial runs.
However, after the award of Games-related work to India in 2003, no activity was undertaken till 2006.
The CAG audit would look into how the balance between the cost and quality has been maintained and whether there has been any cost overrun.
The CWG is in the thick of allegations of corruption ranging from favouritism in award of contracts to expensive hire of equipment for training and inflation in costs of building contracts.
In an inspection report released in August this year, the Comptroller and Auditor General had criticised the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee over appointment of two consultants for broadcast rights and sponsorship agreements.
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