Thiruvananthapuram: Travancore Devaswom Board President K Jayakumar on Tuesday said errors in the audit report related to the Global Ayyappa Summit will be corrected and a revised report submitted to the court by February 26.

The Travancore Devaswom Board withdrew its earlier claim that no audit report existed and later confirmed that a report had been prepared. However, Jayakumar said the audit report was not final and required greater factual accuracy before being placed on record.

He said several remarks in the audit report were due to lapses by the board rather than the auditor. “There was no proper communication with the auditor. We will clarify the issues within 10 days. It cannot be said that it is the auditor’s fault, but there were factual errors,” he said.

According to the Board, delays in physically verifying bills and validating entries in the asset register resulted in incorrect information being reflected in the Global Ayyappa Summit audit report. The Board admitted it had failed to provide a timely response to audit queries.

A special task force comprising the Devaswom Commissioner, Accounts Officer and Chief Engineer has been constituted to review the audit objections. The team will hold discussions with the auditor within 10 days and finalise corrections before submitting the revised audit report to the court.

Jayakumar said claims in the audit report that lakhs of rupees were paid to Nanda Govindam Bhajans despite non-participation, and that 4,000 people were served breakfast, were based on incorrect documentation. The task force will examine the alleged irregularities in detail.

The President said the previous Board had fixed the Global Ayyappa Summit expenditure at Rs 4.99 crore. Of the Rs 3 crore advanced earlier, the amount has now been credited back to the Board’s account.

Also read| Global Ayyappa meet: Discrepancies in accounts; Kerala HC seeks explanation from Devaswom Board

The Board plans to meet the remaining expenses through sponsorship and not from Devaswom funds. However, sponsorship mobilisation has fallen short of expectations. So far, around Rs 3.85 crore has been raised, including Rs 1 crore pledged by the Adani Group.

“Many sponsors who had initially promised support did not respond adequately later. That has been a setback,” Jayakumar said, adding that efforts were underway to secure the remaining funds in line with assurances given to the court.

He also noted that final bills submitted by agencies, including IIIC, total around Rs 7.11 crore. The Board has informed agencies that payments will not exceed the approved expenditure limit of Rs 4.99 crore.

The revised audit report on the Global Ayyappa Summit is expected to clarify the financial discrepancies and address concerns raised before the court.