Make CVC, CBI constitutional bodies: CAG

New Delhi, Nov 7: Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai today averred that none of the reports presented by his office are factually incorrect.

Interacting with participants during a discussion here on Inclusive Governance, he said that even those government departments which were reportedly unhappy over the CAG's findings have so far not challenged the auditor's facts.

Refuting the departments' main grievance that the CAG dealt too hastily with them, Rai pointed out that the auditor not only gives the departments enough time to respond but also incorporates their version in its report.

He said that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must be completely autonomous. "We have remarkable example of Lokpal... He will have to be guaranteed constitutional authority to function independently. CBI is not independent of executive. CVC is another much feared, much maligned, but still a statutory body. If you really want them to deliver you must take the risk and courage to make them constitutional bodies," he said.

Rai urged private companies to be transparent in their functioning and said that both the people as well as the media can help check crony capitalism.

"Why do we leave it to the government alone to introduce probity, transparency, accountability? Citizen groups must empower themselves and ensure that government officials live in glass houses and the transparency applies to private sector too," he emphasised.

Ruing the brazen manner in which some top officials had taken controversial decisions, Rai said that bureaucrats are now more watchful because the media and anti-corruption activists have exposed several corrupt officials of late.

He added that though the government built satisfactory models to deliver its social sector schemes, there are still loopholes in them.

OneIndia News