PAC wants PPP projects under CAG, to sound out audit watchdog

The Public Accounts Committee strongly favours empowering the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine investment, expenditure and profit aspects in public-private partnership (PPP) projects and has decided to call the full CAG before it soon to discuss how to technically empower the audit watchdog in this regard.

The move is significant as it comes in the backdrop of corruption allegations in various PPP projects in the past.

The private sector has so far been resisting the move but the committee's argument is that since public money is being spent even in PPP projects, it needs to be safeguarded.

The PAC headed by Congress leader K V Thomas has decided to call a meeting of the full CAG, most likely this month, after which it will also be calling representatives from ministries.

"The stand of private parties is that the CAG has no business to look into their transactions. PAC, however, strongly feels that wherever the government money is involved, the CAG indeed has a role to play. Since government money is also involved in PPP projects, the entire transaction has to be examined by the CAG," a PAC member told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

The issue was vigorously debated at a recent meeting of the PAC.

Under the PPP mode, the project is implemented based on a contract or concession agreement between a government or statutory entity on the one side and a private sector company on the other side for delivering an infrastructure service on payment of user charges.

PAC's view that the CAG should also start examining public-private partnership (PPP) projects is not a new one.

Former PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi, a veteran BJP leader, had earlier also said that the CAG hould be given powers to look into the functioning of PPP projects, societies and NGOs.

His argument was that every single paisa going through the budget should be looked into by the CAG.

The PAC headed by Thomas has now decided to discuss in detail the manner in which the CAG can examine transactions in PPP projects and how the CAG can be technically assisted to do so.

"We are keen that a mechanism is put in place whereby the CAG gets the needed the technical assistance to examine the PPP projects. We believe that the CAG should look into the entire gamut of of PPP projects--investment, expenditure and profit," said the member.