Murli Manohar Joshi calls for auditing of Army Canteens' account

Murli Manohar Joshi calls for auditing of Army Canteens' accountFrom ANI
New Delhi, Dec 29: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Murli
Manohar Joshi has said that there is a definite need for auditing
unit-run Indian Army canteens due to their increasing turnover from
Rs. 1.5 crore since the system began to Rs. 8600 crores till date.
Addressing a gathering, Joshi said that there was an urgent need to
audit the revenue earned by the Unit-Run Canteens (URCs).
"We witnessed that when the system of Unit-Run Canteens exclusively
for Army personnel, began, the turnover used to be Rs. 1.5 crore,
however with time the turnover amounts to Rs. 8600 crore. So I think
there is a definite need for auditing. Senior Army officers felt that
a large portion of the revenue is used for the betterment of Army
soldiers, to which our committee said that would be taken care by the
Parliament," he said."It is not apt to use a soldier's money for his
betterment. So, I think there should be an adequate auditing mechanism
in place," he added.
He also pointed out inefficiencies of the procurement and distribution
mechanism of food items to soldiers by the Army and termed it as a
serious concern.
"Another issue that is important is the procedure of procuring and
distributing food items (ration) to Army personnel. The committee
thought that a lot of irregularities were taking place in its
distribution in regard to its quality and quantity. We also found out
that the personnel were receiving expired food items. This is
extremely serious and we want to rectify this as well," said Joshi.
Statistics reveal that the Indian Army Service Corps (ASC) spends as
much as Rs 1,440 crore (Rs. 14400 million) annually on procuring
rations.
Joshi also noted that 74 percent of fresh vegetables and fruits given
to units by supply depots defied approved norms.
He also added that the three services have accepted inefficiencies and
promised to work towards rectifying errors