In a letter written to Sinha today, Deora who is also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, emphasised that the UTI, whose flagship scheme US 64 recently turned negative reserves leading to a slump in the value of units, should adopt transparency in its dealings.

He has also called for setting up of a committee including the trustees of the UTI, financial experts and independent auditors, to arrive at the true Net Asset Value of the US 64 scheme.

``Assuming that the value of a unit is Rs 10 or even less, the government must make good the difference between the NAV and price of repurchase which is currently around Rs 14.25,'' Deora has suggested, adding that the promoters of UTI -- IDBI and RBI -- must pump in fresh equity to bridge thedifference.

The new NAV and corresponding corrective measures should be announced in the media and also individually to investors to restore their confidence in the Trust, he has said. Stating that this measure should not be dubbed as a mere ``bail out,'' Deora has pointed out that the government has in the last five years re-capitalised loss making banks to the tune of over Rs 12,000 crore and also floated bonds worth Rs 18,500 crore to help meet the oil pool account deficit. ``Saving the UTI is a far more vital task,'' he said.

Deora has also requested the finance minister to announce a new system of audit of the UTI whereby the funds would be audited by the Big Six accounting firms or at least hand over the audit to a firm credible enough to restore public confidence.

He also highlighted the need to infuse a sense of accountability among the several representatives of the ministry and trustees appointed by the UTI ``who have been silent even though the reserves have been dwindling over the last fouryears. I am against any kind of a witch hunt but there must be some accountability where the hard earned money of crores of people is involved.''