President Patil calls for effective audit

New Delhi, Oct 14 : President Pratibha Patil today called for an effective audit and monitoring of development schemes in the country for making them available to the intended beneficiaries.

Inaugurating the 24th conference of Accounts General here, Patil said that bench marking and assessment are the key elements of the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

"As a stake holder in the development, the CAG should align its audit priority with the current and strategic priorities of the government," she added.

Patil said that schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) contribute to the improvement of human development indicators.

She said that success of the schemes and efficiency of delivery mechanism and effective monitoring of actual benefits reaching the target population is important and the CAG must ensure this.

"Though the CAG is performing audit of many development schemes, it should also evaluate its actual impact on human development. The aim of the audit is to add value and to see improvement in performance and accountability," she said.

Patil said that CAG was visualised as one of the important institutions in our democratic system and recently the Planning Commission has also called for strengthening of this institution for the overall development of the country.

The three-day conference will deliberate on auditing for good governance, desirable reforms in the Government accounts system so as to ensure transparency and facilitate accountability.

ANI