Govt gives nod for CAG audit of discoms’ accounts

Bowing to the clamour for scrutiny of the accounts of private power distribution companies operating in the city, the Delhi government has finally approved their audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

According to a cabinet note, the government sanctioned an audit of the three discoms — BSES Yamuna and Rajdhani, and NDPL — “since inception.”

The decision to get a CAG audit carried out was disclosed during a hearing in the Delhi High Court on Monday when its standing counsel Najmi Waziri adduced before the bench the note of cabinet approval.

This note forms a part of the same decision note wherein the government had given its consent to Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to invest fresh equity worth Rs 500 crore in BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna. As per the note, the equity was infused to maintain the government’s 49 per cent stake in the shareholding pattern and to enable the companies to raise a loan from IDBI Bank.

“The government, in order to address the public concerns and also to carry forth their conviction in the transparent functioning of the discoms, has approved a CAG audit into the affairs of all three power distribution companies in Delhi,” Najmi Waziri informed the bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw.

Waziri further sought some time to put the government’s stand before the court by filing an affidavit and the court gave him a week’s time to do it.

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK for detailed news.