Kerala's Leader of Opposition moves Kerala High Court against GO halting Local Self-Government audits for the year 2019-2020

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly and Congress member Ramesh Chennithala has moved the Kerala High Court against the Kerala Government's decision to halt local self-government audits for the year 2019-2020. (Ramesh Chennithala v. State of Kerala).A Bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly has directed the State Government to respond to Chennithala's petition by Tuesday..The petition, filed through Advocates T Asaf Ali, C Rasheed, VS Chandrasekharan, and Laliza TY challenges the Kerala Government Order suspending Local Government Audits for the year as violative of Articles 243-J, 243-Z, the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipalities Act, 1994. .These laws require regular yearly audits to be conducted at the local government level, which are to be collected by the State Audit Department and then tabled before the Legislative Assembly, it is submitted.."Audit of accounts of public funds is intended to safeguard itself from fraud, extravagance, and more importantly, to bring credibility to the functioning of the audited institutions. An audit is an indispensable tool for sound and effective functioning of Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs) and to ascertain that the benefits of public funds being used reach the lowest strata of society and every individual."The petition states.In September, the Kerala State Audit Department issued a communication halting auditing for the year 2019-2020 citing a want of operational guidelines. .The petitioner claims, however, that the Central Government had in fact issued the appropriate Guidelines as early as June itself for the implementation of Rural Local Body Grants of the Fifteenth Finance Commission..The petitioner expresses that a halt on auditing at this stage would hamper accountability and lead to a situation where institutions would be corroded and result in a state of lawlessness and rampant corruption.."Corruption and bribery would undermine the functioning of LSGIs and also would jeopardise sustainable development."The petition states.Terming the Kerala GO as vague and as not disclosing legally sustainable grounds for dispensing with audits for the year, the petitioner avers that local self government accounts ought to have been prepared and presented for audit by July 31 this year as per the Kerala Local Fund Auditing Act, 1994. .Since the Central Government already issued the Guidelines for auditing in June this year, there was no sustainable justification to halt auditing, it is pointed out..Opining that the auditing was halted to due to fear of exposing rampant corruption in poverty alleviation schemes and in view upcoming elections, the petitioner seeks a quash of the Government Order..The petitioner highlights that an annual audit is imperative to prevent misutilisation and non-utilisation of funds of the LSGIs and to prevent the waste, improper, or illegal use or embezzlement of public funds. Failure to do so would cause great loss to LSGIs, it is added.