Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)

This report published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) presents the findings of an audit that was conducted in the state of Uttarakhand that evaluated the perfor

The issue was examined by CAG because various stakeholders working in the field of environment flagged water pollution as the most important environmental issue that concerns us. 

The audit was conducted through document analysis, collection of responses to questionnaires, physical collection and testing of samples. The results of audit, both at the Central level and the State level, were taken into account for arriving at audit conclusions.

The audit was conducted as a follow up audit of the earlier report on AIBP (No 15 of 2004) to assess whether the performance of AIBP had improved, and also whether the key issues highlighted in the earlier report had been appropriately addressed.

This document by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) includes an audit report, which highlights issues related to adequacy, effectiveness of programmes, schemes, interventions made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to tackle important environmental issues like deforestation, biodiversity and pollution control.

 It aims at sensitising policy makers to look at environmental issues with a holistic approach and address deficiencies in programmes/schemes/policies so that the environment can be conserved effectively.

This link on the CAG website provides the details of an international conference that was held on 15-16 March 2010, in the backdrop of the environmental audit proposed by the the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, for management and conservation of the environment .

The purpose of this conference was to deliberate on the causes of pollution, action taken by governments and civil society to address this and environmental, management and legal interventions needed to put lakes, rivers and ground water on the path of sustainability.

More than 20 experts on water and water pollution issues were invited to share their views as panelists during the conference. Apart from these distinguished panelists, the heads of supreme audit institutions from countries like Austria, Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan were also present to share their experiences regarding audit of water pollution in their countries.

The performance audit report of the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) for the period April 2002 to March 2007, conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), reveals numerous deficiencies in execution and implementation of works such as cases of time and cost-overrun, non-completion & delayed completion of works, non-functional & defunct works, delayed completion & non-completion of water quality mission projects, incorrect prioritization of works, wasteful and unfruitful expenditure, and expenditure on unapproved items.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (www.cag.gov.in) is starting a performance Audit on "Pollution of ground water, lakes and rivers in India". CAG has invited citizens to point out specific problems / issue regarding water pollution affecting them or the environment.