Graft in India scaling new heights, says CAG Rai

Comptroller & Auditor General of India Vinod Rai on Sunday refuted contentions that the methods used by his office to review government accounts was flawed, saying every CAG report had a ''certain basis''.

Rai is widely regarded as the most activist CAG India has had.

In the recent past, he has brought to light irregularities in the allocation of spectrum in 2008 – which have shaken up the telecom sector – as well as issues concerning allocation of coal blocks to private companies, cost inflation by gas explorer Reliance Industries Ltd, and corruption in the conduct of the 2009 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration in Bhubaneshwar, the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, Rai refuted the frequently-voiced criticism that the CAG tended to inflate the losses caused to the exchequer from various government-related projects.

Rai said India is facing corruption of ''unprecedented proportions''.  He said the CAG reports are ''unique and extraordinary''.

"Every report has some basis. If it had no basis, we won't point out anything," he said.

"The CAG is not meant to be only auditing the government expenditure; it has the responsibility of holding the government accountable for its expenditure as well. The CAG office can't be expected to be a cheerleader for the government, as it has a social role," Rai said.

"The public accounts committee (of Parliament) may or may not discuss all our reports, but CAG has to sensitise the public about its reports. In the US, it (the CAG's counterpart) is very powerful and in India we must have a similar role."

Rai rejected accusations that CAG reports were leaked to the media before being tabled in Parliament.

''There is no question of any leakage. It is very simple. We are part of the RTI (Right to Information Act). If we are preparing a report and someone asks certain question under RTI, we have to give the answers. There is a ruling of the Central Information Commission saying that anybody wanting anything during the report preparation can get the reply,'' he said.

Talking about corruption, he said corruption has two aspects in India. "We commonly use bribery and extortion interchangeably. We need to understand there is a fine distinction them. Ordinarily, a person would resort to paying a bribe for expediting his work. It involves an element of willingness to extract a favour. But extortion is an entirely different thing. It is forceful," he said.