Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): The Local Fund Audit has raised several questions regarding the audit of the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee. The audit found the committee’s response unsatisfactory concerning the recruitment of employees and the disbursal of honorarium.
The audit for the financial year 2023-2024 states that when the committee was asked for documents pertaining to the creation of posts for employees working on honorarium, and files related to the recruitment process for direct and retired categories, the committee cited meeting minutes from January 17, 2012, and May 28, 2012. It claimed appointments and honorariums were confirmed in the sanctioned budget.
However, the Local Fund Audit rejected this reply. It noted that during a meeting on Feb 13, 2014, a decision was taken to table service rules for 327 employees for approval. To date, no such approval or post creation has occurred. Consequently, the audit questioned the payment of honorarium and Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) sums totalling Rs 11.54 crore.
Audit Objection
Donation Discrepancy: A secret donation of Rs 1,00,100 was allegedly altered to Rs 10,100 in the "Other Donation Receipt Book" on May 1, 2023. The audit flagged a potential misuse of Rs 90,000 and called for recovery and fixing of responsibility.
Bank Balance Mismatch: As of March 31, 2024, the cashbook showed a balance of Rs 39.18 crore, while bank statements reflected Rs 47.22 crore. The audit demanded a bank reconciliation statement to address the Rs 8.03 crore difference.
Unauthorised Advances: The audit questioned an advance payment of Rs 35 lakh made to the Executive Engineer, PWD, Ujjain division, for festival barricading. This included Rs 15 lakh for New Year 2024 and Rs 20 lakh for Mahashivratri. The payments were allegedly made without the committee's sanction or residential audit approval.
