New Delhi:

A CAG report for the year ending March 2021 has flagged “persistent delays” in the finalisation of the Court of Inquiry proceedings in the Army, and cited that out of 95 cases involving financial loss in three commands, stipulated timeline for assembly and completion of CoI was met “only in 46 and 25 cases”.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Union government (Defence Services-Army) was presented in Parliament on Tuesday.

This report contains the results of audit of the transactions of Ministry of Defence pertaining to the Department of Defence, Army, Military Engineer Services, Border Roads Organisation, and Defence Research and Development Organisation in 2020-21, as per the statement on it issued by the CAG.

It also audited the functioning of the Remount and Veterinary Services and Utilisation of Animal Transport Units.

The Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC), headed by Director General Remount Veterinary Services (DG RVS), is responsible for breeding, rearing, training and managing health of the entire equine and canine population in the Indian Army.

“Audit covered the period from 2018-19 to 2020-21 which included the period of 13th Army Plan (2017-22). Audit observed that the 13th Plan for RVS did not include capability development and modernisation aspects,” the statement said.

The audit was also on ‘Court of Inquiry in Indian Army’, ‘Raising of Porter Companies in Eastern Command’, and ‘Management of Water Supply by Military Engineer Services’, among others.

“There were persistent delays in finalisation of the CoI (Court of Inquiry) proceedings in Indian Army. Out of 95 cases involving financial loss in the three Army Commands (Central Command, Eastern Command and Western Command), stipulated timeline for assembly and completion of CoI was met only in 46 and 25 cases respectively,” the CAG said in the statement.

In 11 cases, time taken in completion of CoI was “more than two years and even up to 11 years,” it flagged.

“In 10 CoIs related to fire incidents where the Command HQs were authorised to convene a CoI, the convening order was issued by an authority lower than the Command HQs. The terms of reference (ToR) which lay down the scope of investigation for a CoI did not have specific mention of fixation of responsibility and apportioning of blame/loss in 29 cases,” the statement said.

“Further, in 28 out of these 29 cases, there was no mention of the relevant Army Rules, Orders, Instructions, etc., and in 13 of these 29 cases, no mention was made of assessing the extent of loss and damage to life/property,” the audit body said.

The statement further said that in 95 cases, CoI assessed “financial loss of Rs 50.76 crore”.

“The financial losses of Rs 7.12 crore were regularised in respect of 43 cases (April 2022). However, in 52 cases involving financial loss of Rs 43.64 crore, the information relating to regularisation of loss by Competent Financial Authority was not available,” the statement said.

“In 57 out of 95 cases, the required documents relating to intimation of details of loss to accounting authorities, that is, Controllers of Defence Accounts (CsDA), were not available in the documents furnished. As such, Audit was unable to ascertain whether the loss was reported to CsDA either initially or finally after investigation,” it added.

In 20 out of 38 remaining cases, where the Commands/Units furnished details of financial losses to the concerned CsDA after completion of CoI, “the time taken in reporting of losses to CsDA ranged between three months and more than two years,” it flagged.

On the functioning of the Remount and Veterinary Service, it further said that “three out of the six short-term training goals” as per the Technical Training Directive of RVS, related to import of frozen semen of proven elite stallions from European countries to upgrade the sporting potential of Army equines; training of raptors to hunt down drones or surveillance devices; and training of local breeds of dogs to assess their suitability for employment as military working dogs, were “either not achieved or under-achieved”.

On the audit related to the raising of Porter Companies in Eastern Command, the audit body said the Ministry of Defence sanctioned (June 2019) raising of nine Porter Companies (Coys) in the area of responsibility (AoR) under the Headquarters Eastern Command (HQ EC) for the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 at a cost of Rs 180.85 crore and for the year 2021-22, at a cost of Rs 93.78 crore.

“Out of total 12,000 porters hired under the Porter Coys raised between 2019-20 and 2021-22, Corps HQ allotted 11,297 porters to ETFs/Engineer Regiments. Division HQ further allotted only 7,938 porters to ETFs/Engineer Regiments. As such, 3,359 porters were deployed in units other than Engineer Regiments. Out of 7,938 porters deployed, the utilisation certificates rendered by the Engineer Regiments were only in respect of 4,634 porters,” it said.

The report also flagged “unwarranted expenditure due to delay in termination of bandwidth services” by the Canteen Stores Department.

The report also mentions cases of avoidable expenditure of Rs 3.20 crore on account of not following the IRC specification in road markings, and sanctioning similar nature of works under different code heads. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader, speaking in Lok Sabha yesterday, questioned the calls to survey or demolish some mosques across the country amid debates over the Places of Worship Act. Speaking during a debate on 75 years of the Constitution of India, the Hyderabad MP also accused the Centre of trying to “snatch away” Waqf properties.

“Today, I am being asked if there was a mosque 500 years ago… If I dig up this Parliament and something will be found, will it become mine?” Mr Owaisi said.

His remarks came days after the Supreme Court paused the ongoing surveys of places of worship, including mosques.

In his nearly 9-minute speech, he also expressed his concern over the situation of minorities.

“What Babasaheb said 75 years ago remains absolutely true even today – no one wants the minority to share power,” the 55-year-old leader said.

“Let me explain the measure of success of parliamentary democracy. Articles 25, 26, 29, 30, 14, and 21-these fundamental rights form the foundation. By focusing on these, I will illustrate whether justice has truly been served to the weaker sections of society,” he said, citing incidents of harassment against Muslims.

AIMIM अध्यक्ष बैरिस्टर @asadowaisi ने लोकसभा में “भारत के संविधान की 75 वर्षों” पर चर्चा के दौरान अपनी बात रखी। संविधान में दिए गए हुक़ूक़ भारत के मुसलमानों के लिए अधूरे रह गए हैं।#asaduddinowaisi#parliamentwintersession2024#75yearsOfConstitution#asadowaisi… pic.twitter.com/9bgmRxDTpF

— AIMIM (@aimim_national) December 14, 2024

Referring to the Waqf Amendment bill, Mr Owaisi said the goal of the central government is to “snatch away Waqf properties”.

“You want to snatch it away on the basis of your strength,” he said.

ALSO READ | ‘Those Looking For Temples Under Mosques Don’t Want Peace’: Akhilesh Yadav

The bill requires that money received by the Waqf Board must be used for the welfare of widows, divorcees, and orphans in the manner suggested by the government.

Opposition parties have alleged that the amendments proposed by the bill violate the religious rights of Muslims. The government, however, has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency to the functioning of the waqf boards and make them accountable.

“Read Article 26, it gives religious denominations, the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) says that Waqf has nothing to do with the Constitution. Who is teaching the PM? Make him read Article 26,” he said.

New Delhi:
The Winter Session of parliament begins today during which three key bills are scheduled. Coming on the heels of the NDA’s massive victory in Haryana and Maharashtra, the session is likely to see the government on a stronger wicket.

Here are top 10 points on this big story:

New Delhi:

The Winter Session of Parliament will be held from November 25 to December 20, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon.

A special event – to be held in the Central Hall – will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution will be held on the second day of the session – November 26, or Constitution Day.

This will be the first Parliament after a round of four state elections, including the first in a decade in Jammu and Kashmir in which the BJP finished behind the National Conference-Congress alliance. The BJP, however, secured some revenge by retaining Haryana for a historic third successive term.

The third and fourth elections – for Maharashtra, where the BJP is allied with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction and the NCP group led by Ajit Pawar, and Jharkhand, where Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a member of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, is in power – will be held next week.

Hon’ble President, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Winter Session, 2024 from 25th November to 20th December, 2024 (subject to exigencies of parliamentary business). On 26th November,… pic.twitter.com/dV69uyvle6

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 5, 2024

Among the big-ticket bills likely to be tabled and/or debated or discussed are contentious amendments to the Waqf Bill and provisions for the government’s ambitious ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal.

The amendments to the Waqf Bill are currently being studied by a joint parliamentary committee headed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jagadambika Pal.

The committee is supposed to submit its report to Parliament by November 29.

However, the functioning of the JPC has been roiled in controversy after opposition MPs wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker this week warning that they could ‘dissociate’ themselves from the panel.

READ | Opposition MPs Write To Lok Sabha Speaker Over Waqf Bill Committee

The MPs accused Mr Pal of taking decisions regarding meeting dates and summons for consultations – unilaterally, and called his actions a “forceful way to mitigate (protests) and pass changes.

Last month Union Home Minister Amit Shah had indicated this bill could be tabled and passed in the next sitting of Parliament (referring to the Winter Session). 

As far as the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal goes, a committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind cleared the way forward in March, submitting a report that proposed simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the first step.

NDTV Explains | ‘One Nation, One Election’. What Is It, How It Can Work

The ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal was part of the BJP’s manifesto in 2019, but has drawn heavy criticism from the opposition, who have red-flagged constitutional issues.

In the last Parliament session, the Monsoon Session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget and MPs discussed various issues, including the landslides in Wayanad in Kerala.