CONTENTS - Central Public Works Department

SECTION 55
CHAPTER VIII
SECTION 55
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE
55.1 General
The Public Accounts Committee is really a miniature Parliament/Legislature. It consists ordinarily of
the representatives of different political parties of the Parliament/Legislature, but the fundamental
difference between the main Parliament/Legislature and this Committee is that while the former functions
on party lines, the Public Accounts Committee functions strictly on non-party lines. The reason for this
is that this Committee is not concerned with the policies of the Government but with the executive
functions of Government. The Committee is primarily a committee of Lok Sabha, with which some
members of the Rajya Sabha are also associated. The term of office of Members of the Committee
does not exceed one year.
55.2 Scope of functions
(1) The functions of the Public Accounts Committee will be laid down by the Parliament/Legislature.
The rules of business provide that the main function of the Committee is to consider the matters
that are commented upon in the Audit Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
(2) The function of the Public Accounts Committee is to discharge the responsibility of exercising
vigilance over the financial working of the Government. The functions of the Public Accounts
Committee are limited firstly to see that proper sanction of Parliament/Legislature has been
obtained for expenditure to be incurred, that it has been presented in proper form so as to enable
the Parliament/Legislature to understand the implication of the expenditure, that at the end of the
year the appropriations have been asked upon in the proper way, and that if there are savings
and excesses these are adequately explained.
(3) The Public Accounts Committee would see that the Administration has functioned with due
wisdom, faithfulness and economy. For this purpose, it is necessary for the Public Accounts
Committee to have the material to show exactly that these duties of the Government have been
performed, and the Audit Department supplies the Committee with the material in the form of
Audit Reports.
(4) In scrutinizing the Appropriation Accounts and the Audit Report thereon, the Committee has to
satisfy itself that:
(a) The moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for
and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged;
(b) The expenditure conform to the authority which governs it; and
(c) Every re-appropriation has been made in accordance with the provisions made in this
behalf under the rules framed by the competent authority.
(5) The Public Accounts Committee, before taking up consideration of the current year’s Report,
goes over the past recommendations in which the Government has not taken action considered
appropriate by the Committee. If in a particular case, an item appears year after year and the
Department has not been giving satisfactory explanation, the Committee may appoint a small
Sub-Committee, who might ask the Government to submit all the relevant papers so as to enable
the Committee to arrive at proper conclusion.
(6) If the Government directs or wants a certain department to adopt a certain procedure and the
officer does not comply with it, the Committee will bring to the notice of the Government through
its report that the officer does not appear to have followed the procedure, and the Government
should make necessary investigation and take such disciplinary action as is considered
necessary. In such case of an item which is placed before the Public Accounts Committee,
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