The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected West Bengal government’s petition against its two-day-old judgement where Comptroller and Auditor General was given the responsibility to audit Amphan-related relief fund distribution.
On Tuesday, the High Court had ordered the CAG to audit the relief funds that were initiated by both the Central and State Governments and report back to the court within three months.
Following the High Court’s order, Advocate General Kishore Dutta had requested it to grant West Bengal government some time before CAG’s interference. The court rejected Dutta’s plea on Friday.
After hearing a batch of petitions instituted in public interest following complaints of wide-ranging corruption, of the High Court bench of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee had asked for CAG’s involvement.
The Central and State Governments had rolled out schemes to help people who had suffered from the impact of Amphan Cyclone in May this year.
However, numerous complaints were raised soon after about the state government officials handpicking TMC cadres and workers as the recipients of succour.
As per a report by Live Law, the petitioners alleged that the state government “had made an unauthorized and illegitimate pick and choose of persons to whom the benefits were doled out” and that the “Amphan schemes were not operated in the manner as envisaged either by the Union of India or the State Government.”
It was further brought into court’s attention that a large number of people, who had actually faced the wrath of Amphan Cyclone, were left out from the list of beneficiaries.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered, “The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has the necessary constitutional, statutory and administrative sanction, power and authority to conduct such inquiry as is necessary to ensure that there is financial audit and the performance audit of the utilization of the Amphan relief either extended by the Central Government and operationalized through the State Government or otherwise and ensure that there is an appropriate audit report of the performance as well as accounts.
“This will pave way for the competent authority, either in the Central Government or the State Government or at both levels or at both ends, to decide the next course of action that should be taken in case of any fault being traced by the audit process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as regards performance and also regarding accounts,” Live Law quoted the High Court as saying.