Govt faces PAC heat over property purchase in Paris

The CAG had criticised the MEA for purchasing a French government-owned property in Paris, which was not suitable to be used to set up an Indian cultural centre.

Comptroller and Auditor General, CAG, Ministry of External Affairs, MEA, Public Accounts Committee, PAC, K V Thomas, ICCR, india news, news

The property was bought by the Ministry for Rs 30.03 crore.

A year after being pulled up by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for wasteful expenditure on a property in Paris, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came under attack from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman K V Thomas for failing to produce correspondence related to the purchase.

The CAG had criticised the MEA for purchasing a French government-owned property in Paris, which was not suitable to be used to set up an Indian cultural centre. As per procedure, all CAG reports are examined by the PAC. At a PAC meeting Wednesday, Thomas said the documents relating to the correspondence with French government were not available for scrutiny.

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“The Ministry has helplessly commented that the Mission has not been providing required material. The reason looks very strange, since, after all, the Mission is under the administrative control of the Ministry. One telephone call from Financial Adviser of Chief Accounting Authority would have brought senses on the mission,” he said.

The property was bought by the Ministry for Rs 30.03 crore. The building, located at 3 Avenue du Lowendal in the heart of Paris, was bought in 2011 despite the fact that two architects hired by the Indian mission had said the building was not suitable to be used as a cultural centre as under French regulation such buildings required two exits and provision for the assembly of a minimum of 100 people which it lacked.

The MEA has said “considering the usefulness” of the property, the ministry and the ICCR have taken up the matter with the French government, which authorised the Indian mission to “make additions/alternations in the existing building” or if required rebuild the property.

First uploaded on: 21-08-2015 at 03:37 IST

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