KC Venugopal flags absence of six chief secretaries at PAC meeting

Thiruvananthapuram: Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman KC Venugopal on Tuesday expressed concern over the absence of chief secretaries from six states at a recent committee meeting, stressing that legislative oversight must be given due importance to ensure the effective implementation of public welfare schemes.

Addressing a conference of chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees of Parliament and state and Union Territory legislatures, the senior Congress leader said PAC meetings should be treated with the seriousness they deserve, as their purpose is to improve government policies and programmes rather than merely find faults.

"When the committee calls for evidence, it is not to find fault for its own sake -- the purpose is to improve schemes and policies, and that ultimately serves the welfare of the citizens.

"For example, in the last meeting of the committee in Parliament, none of the chief secretaries of six states attended," he said.

Venugopal said the chief secretaries had been summoned to provide oral evidence on the implementation of pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes for Scheduled Caste students, which support learners from some of the most disadvantaged sections of society.

"The absence of the chief secretaries denied the committee the opportunity to examine the shortcomings and secure corrective action," he said.

He urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who attended the conference, to intervene in such instances to ensure that the "authority of the committee, and through it the authority of Parliament, is duly respected".

The two-day conference was inaugurated at the Keralam Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister VD Satheesan and other dignitaries.

Venugopal also called for greater audit coverage by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), with particular emphasis on the implementation of flagship government programmes.

He described the relationship between the PAC and the CAG as central to legislative oversight, noting that the CAG provides independent audit findings and professional assistance, while the committee examines those findings using the authority of the legislature.

"In this context, an increase in the resource capacity and independence of the CAG would directly impact the functioning of the PAC," he said.

Venugopal said there was a growing need for the CAG to conduct more audits and assess how major welfare and development schemes were being implemented. He cited POSHAN Abhiyan, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Mission and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, along with programmes that have replaced or been restructured from earlier schemes, including Jal Jeevan Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin and PM Mitra.

He also pointed to an imbalance in the number of audit reports across government sectors. While the CAG had brought out around 33 reports on defence and 30 on railways over the past six years, the corresponding figures were 14 each for health and external affairs and seven for education, he said.

"I feel this has to be balanced. Even sectors like textiles, tourism, MSME - all these have great potential to provide employment to our youth and need to be audited with a view to streamlining their functioning," he said.

Emphasising the importance of timely audits, Venugopal said delays in presenting reports to Parliament could weaken government accountability and affect the delivery of essential services.

"Justice delayed, Justice denied," Venugopal said, referring to the delay in carrying out audit. He said delay in tabling audit reports in Parliament would amount to delay in seeking accountability from the government and denial of rightful services to citizens.

Citing problems with National Highway projects in Kerala, he said several stretches had faced slope failures, pavement cracks, inadequate drainage and waterlogging.

"I will highlight one example. National Highway projects in Keralam have encountered repeated instances of slope failure, pavement cracking, poor drainage and water logging," he said.

Venugopal said the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had admitted to design failure by the concessionaire and the independent engineer. He also alleged that multiple instances of sub-contracting had resulted in poor-quality highways.

"In view of such serious lapses, in our 33rd report presented in August 2025, the Committee had recommended that CAG carry out a comprehensive performance audit of the National Highway Projects being undertaken by NHAI," he said.