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Rly. Ministry approach to ATR `casual'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 16. The Public Accounts Committee has pulled up the Railway Ministry for its casual approach and submission of action taken reports on its recommendations after a delay of two years and four months particularly when it was mandatory for it to do so in six months from the date of presentation of the report to the Lok Sabha.

Expressing its distress that the complete Action Taken Notes (ATNs) on the recommendations contained in the 20th report (13th Lok Sabha) were received over a delay of two years and four months, the PAC, headed by Buta Singh, underlined that it was essential for the Ministry to submit the ATNs on earlier reports within the prescribed six months so that the action taken on the matters of recurring and routine nature could be taken into account during an examination of Indian Railways Appropriation Accounts for the later year. The panel also observed that its oft-repeated recommendations and the instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure- Monitoring cell) in the matter year after year have not yield the desired results.

As such the PAC said it would like the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) to evolve a proper procedure for submission of the requisite Action Notes to it within the timeframe.

Also, the committee pointed out the although the Ministry of Railways had claimed to have an established mechanism of budgetary formulation and control, the desired improvements in the budgetary control mechanism are not reflected in the Indian Railways Appropriation Accounts for the three years from 1998-2000.

In the face of assertion by the Ministry that instructions for gearing up the established mechanism of budgetary formulation and control have been issued, the panel commented that a mere issuance of such instructions did not make such sense unless the reasons for a large-scale recurrent savings in a grant appropriation are investigated and remedial steps taken to ensure judicious use of scarce resources.

It reiterated its earlier recommendations and desire that the Ministry of Railways should do the needful and apprise the committee of the concrete steps taken to overcome the tendency of excess budgeting in future. Noting further that nothing concrete had been done to analyse critically the requisite data so that the budget estimates on pension and other retirement benefits do not go awry to such a large extent as seen, the panel said no clear indication of initiation of any concrete measures was available and added that any inherent defects in the existing system should be removed through suitable measures in consultation with the Finance Ministry.

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