Dimapur: Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Mhathung Yanthan, accompanied by officials from the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat and PAC, attended the two-day Conference of Chairpersons of Public Accounts Committees of Parliament and State/UT Legislatures held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on November 3 and 4.
The conference was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and held on the theme, “Audit, Accountability and Good Governance: The Evolving Role of the PAC.” It was attended by chairpersons of PACs from 25 states, members of the Lok Sabha PAC, representatives of PACs from various states and Union Territories, and officials from 27 states.
The inaugural session was attended by Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and Lok Sabha PAC chairman K.C. Venugopal.
During the conference, Om Birla released a souvenir featuring an article by Mhathung Yanthan titled “The Public Accounts Committee: Strengthening Legislative Oversight for Better Governance – Reflections from Nagaland.” In the article, Yanthan highlighted the role of PACs in ensuring accountability in the utilisation of public funds, the challenges faced by the Nagaland PAC, and the need for time-bound examination of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, digital monitoring systems and capacity building for better governance.
The conference featured two plenary sessions moderated by K.C. Venugopal, during which PAC chairpersons from various states and Union Territories discussed challenges faced by legislative oversight bodies and suggested measures to strengthen their functioning.
Among the key recommendations deliberated upon were the creation of a comprehensive audit and evaluation system involving Parliament and State Legislatures, standardised timelines for government departments to submit Action Taken Notes on audit observations and PAC recommendations, and the adoption of digital oversight mechanisms such as the Audit Para Monitoring System (APMS).
Other suggestions included the development of a digital platform for sharing best practices among PACs, holding at least three PAC sittings every month, constituting sub-committees to clear pending observations, and discussing at least one PAC report along with government action taken reports during every session of Parliament and State Legislatures.
The conference also proposed annual joint meetings between Parliament and State PACs to review Centrally Sponsored Schemes, increased CAG audit coverage of flagship programmes and social sector schemes, enhanced use of technology and forensic tools in audit scrutiny, and greater capacity building for PAC members and secretariat staff.
Yanthan also participated in the plenary discussions and shared his views on strengthening legislative oversight, ensuring timely submission of CAG reports to the Legislature and enhancing accountability in the utilisation of public resources.
The valedictory session was addressed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Lok Sabha PAC chairman K.C. Venugopal.
The conference concluded with the unanimous adoption of the “Keralam Resolution”, which, among others, called for rigorous examination standards to ensure public funds are utilised judiciously for the purposes for which they are sanctioned and the establishment of a robust mechanism for inter-PAC coordination and exchange of best practices.
