New Delhi, 02 July (H.S.): The Delhi Government has formally issued orders for a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the city's power distribution companies (discoms). Delhi Energy Minister Ashish Sood said the decision marks a historic step towards ensuring transparency, accountability and good governance in the National Capital's power sector. More importantly, he said, it is a victory for every electricity consumer and every honest taxpayer in Delhi.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Sood said the audit would examine how regulatory assets amounting to nearly ₹38,000 crore continued to accumulate over the years, who benefited from them, and why the financial burden ultimately fell on the people of Delhi. He said the CAG audit would bring all these facts into the public domain.

The minister said that following the privatisation of the power sector, several financial decisions, special arrangements and steadily increasing liabilities remained outside the scope of public scrutiny for years. He alleged that the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government protected the existing system instead of investigating it. According to Sood, what the previous government failed to undertake during its ten years in office, the present government has initiated within just a few months.

Sood said the exercise is not merely an investigation into the actions of the previous government but also lays the foundation for comprehensive reforms in Delhi's power sector. He added that the true success of the audit would be determined by the corrective measures, stronger regulatory mechanisms and enhanced accountability implemented after its completion.

The minister further stated that no honest taxpayer in Delhi should be compelled to bear the cost of private interests, preferential treatment or flawed decisions. He emphasised that safeguarding every rupee of public money is the responsibility of the government.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar