9th parliament discussed maximum audit reports

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the ninth parliament held 175 meetings and discussed 293 'un-disposed' audit reports, setting the highest record since the independence, helping recovery and adjustment of Tk 355 crore from audit observations.
The ninth parliament was able to hold the maximum number of meetings as it formed the PAC within 23 days of formation of the parliament on January 25, 2009.
Of the total 918 audit reports submitted since the independence by the C&AG, only 332 reports were discussed up to the eighth parliament while the ninth parliament alone discussed 293 reports from the remaining ones.
Abul Kalam Azad, director of Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), revealed the facts in a presentation at an orientation programme of the journalists at Aristocrat conference room in Rajshahi on Sunday.
Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI), with the assistance of USAID-Progati, organised the orientation on 'Using audit reports in investigative journalism'.
The eighth parliament in comparison managed to achieve a recovery of Tk 87.72 crore and adjustment of another Tk 161.30 crore, holding only 46 meetings of PAC in its five-year tenure from October 28, 2001.
The seventh parliament recovered Tk 227 crore and adjusted Tk 929 crore, holding 103 meetings in its five-year term from July 14, 1996.
The eighth parliament delayed formation of the PAC for one and a half years while the seventh parliament delayed for five months.
The first parliament, during its tenure from April 7, 1973 to November 6, 1975, held only three meetings of the PAC while the second parliament from April 2, 1979 to March 24, 1982 held nine meetings, the fourth parliament from April 15, 1988 to December 6, 1990 held six meetings while the fifth parliament held 52 meetings from April 5, 1991 to November 24, 1995.
No PAC was formed during the third and sixth parliaments.
Azad also showed that the office of C&AG helped the government achieve a recovery of Tk 1,302.60 crore and adjustment of Tk 6,314.63 crore in 2010 while the government expenditure for the office was only Tk 61.85 crore, thus making the ratio of expenditure against recovery and adjustment 1:123.
C&AG Media Head Khademul Karim Iqbal and MRDI officials Hasibur Rahman and Farhana Afroz also addressed the programme.