CALCUTTA, July 28: The records cannot be certified or corroborated.Purpose for which payments were made is not recorded. Whether the amount was used for the scheme it was meant for cannot be ascertained.

Details of expenditure are not available.Records of authorities to whom the money was disbursed are not there.

And so it goes on and on. In case after case, which the Accountant General (Audit) has listed charging the West Bengal Government with ``financial impropriety,'' the refrain is: We don't know where the money went.

Now the Calcutta High Court has asked the Comptroller and the Auditor General to look into the whole mess. But auditors admit it's virtually impossible to track down the money that has been allegedly siphoned off.

The Personal Ledger Accounts (PLAs) -- there are 666 of them -- into which the money was parked have no ``audit trail.'' No accounts were kept, no regular checking was done, no one's approval was needed to withdraw money from these accounts.

For instance, if the State Legislature approved withdrawal of Rs 2 crore under Rural Development and deposited it into a PLA, the ``functional identification'' of this money and its expenditure is ``completely obliterated.''

The state government claims that the Central funds didn't go into PLAs, they were put into Local Fund Accounts which have been created under the Zilla Parishad Act, 1963. Says Minister for Rural Development Suryakant Mishra:

``In our districts, the Local Fund Accounts are loosely called Zilla Parishad PLA, but that doesn't change the character of the account. These funds are born out of a State Act and CAG's concurrence is not required for the expenditure made from these accounts.''

That's a thin distinction, and a specious one, say auditors. One, Local Fund Accounts exist only as one of the ``sub-heads'' under PLAs. Two, the State Government never took this ``position'' in the Calcutta High Court, when Congress MP Mamata Banerjee filed a writ petition on the PLA scandal.

In fact, lawyers representing the Government told the court that Central funds were deposited in PLAs for ``administrative convenience and efficiency.''

Even Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta had admitted diversion of funds from PLAs although he claimed that these diversions were of ``a very minor nature.'' And when the Left Front Government came under attack, he announced an auditing of all the PLAs in three months and that a report would be placed in the Assembly.

Auditors say that's an uphill task. They have already sent their ``objections'' to expenditure incurred from PLAs in 17 districts and have asked for a written clarification. However, the district administration is yet to give any answers.

Significantly, the preliminary report filed by the Accountant General (Audit) admits: ``Since none of the treasuries in the State maintain separate scheme-wise and head-wise register/records of the money being withdrawn from Consolidated Fund, it is difficult to establish an `audit trail' as to which amount spent is from which fund.''

According to the A-G, transferring money from the Consolidated Fund to PLAs wasn't re-adjusted as reduction in expenditure at the end of the year but was allowed to remain in PLAs for years together.

Says a senior bureaucrat: ``Auditing can at best throw light on serious financial irregularities and can hint at massive bungling. But it cannot unearth a scam or a conspiracy beyond a point. In West Bengal, where PLAs have not been audited for the past 10 years, how can the Government achieve this task in 90 days?''

A-G's recommendations

* Because it is difficult to establish an ``audit trail'', the AG (Audit) has said only a physical verification can reveal whether the money was utilised for the schemes.

For the time being, the AG has issued following recommendations to the West Bengal Government:

1. All the PL accounts which are more than a year old be immediately closed.

2. Opening of PL accounts should be more purposeful, need-oriented and context/scheme-specific and with ``prior consultation'' of the AG and not ``in anticipation'' of his approval.

3. Reconciliation between Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) records and treasury records must be done immediately.

4. Detailed procedure for maintenance of records at treasury and DDO-level may be drawn up while handling PL accounts by DDOs and their regular auditability must be ensured.

5. It must be made mandatory for DDOs to furnish statements of expenditures pertaining to PLAs to the A-G for audit. If DDOs fail to do so, the matter should be dealt sternly.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.