Panchayats’ online audit by next year

Our Correspondent

Palampur, November 21

To check the misuse of funds by various panchayats, the Central Government has decided to conduct the online audit of money allocated to 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country.

A senior official of the state government said the authorities were well-versed with the situation and taking the help of the new technology to check the pilferage of funds by panchayats.

“The Government of India has decided to conduct an online audit of funds. In the first phase, the accounts of 20 per cent panchayats will be audited. The Panchayati Raj Department will use 'Audit Online’, an open-source application which facilitates online and offline audit of accounts, to ensure transparency in the utilisation of funds. All panchayats across India will be covered by the next financial year 2021-22,” he added.

The 15th Finance Commission had allocated Rs 60,750 crore for all three tiers of the panchayat during 2020-21. The amount was almost the same as the last year under the 14th Finance Commission.