TDB Admits Flaws in Global Ayyappa Sangamam Audit Report, Forms Task Force
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Travancore Devaswom Board president K Jayakumar said the audit report on the Global Ayyappa Sangamam submitted to the High Court of Kerala contained flaws.
A task force has been formed to rectify the Errors, and a final report will be submitted to the court before 26 February.
"The report was submitted in a hurry as we had to meet the deadline fixed by the court. No affidavit was submitted along with the report. The Board examined the report today and found discrepancies in it. A task force has been formed to correct them," he told media persons here on Tuesday.
According to the president, the Board is to be blamed for the flaws, not the auditor.
"Normally, during an audit, the auditor raises certain queries to which the client responds. Some replies are accepted, while others are not. Matters that are not accepted remain as major objections. Such a procedure did not take place in our case. It is not the auditor's fault but ours. We failed to give timely replies to the queries," he said.
Jayakumar said discrepancies occurred in the report for several reasons.
"In a few cases, physical verification of bills was not carried out. Entries were not made in the assets register and validated on time. The Board meeting has decided to rectify these mistakes on an urgent basis. The task force, comprising the Devaswom Commissioner, Accounts Officer and Chief Engineer, will hold discussions with the auditor," he said.
"The report's finding that Rs 8 lakh was paid to Nandagovindam Bhajans and that 4,000 persons had breakfast at the venue was based on incorrect documents. The task force will examine these errors," he said.
Jayakumar said the Sangamam's expense, as approved by the previous board, was Rs 4.99 crore. The present board continues to stand by this decision.
The bills submitted by the event management agency IIMC and others amount to Rs 7.11 crore. They have been informed that no additional payments will be made.
The Board had made an advance payment of Rs 3 crore for the event, which has since been recovered. However, the Board could not secure sufficient sponsorships to meet the entire expense. So far, Rs 2.85 crore has been received, and Rs 1 crore is expected from the Adani Group.
The Board will not utilise its own funds for now and is making efforts to secure more sponsorships.
He added that the Board would take a position on the Sabarimala women's entry issue at an appropriate time. "The Devaswom Board will take a position on the Sabarimala women's entry issue when the time comes. Now is not the time to say anything. Everything will be said when the time comes," he said.