HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHITUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016 05| metro |

SC asks city discoms to explain why CAG shouldn’t audit their accounts HT Correspondent■ htreporters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the private power distribution companies to submit their stand on why shouldn’t they be audited by the Comptroller General of India (CAG).

A bench headed by justice J Chelameswar issued notices to the two Reliance ADAG BSES fir ms and Tata discom on appeals filed by the Delhi gov-ernment, CAG and a resident welfare association assailing the high court verdict that

quashed the city administra-tion’s January 7, 2014 order asking the national auditor to look into the accounts of the power distribution companies.

The court, however, declined the Delhi government’s plea to issue a stay order against the HC verdict. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan argued on behalf of the state that CAG had already sub-mitted its interim report. “Let it give a final report, which could be subject to the outcome of this case,” the lawyer told the bench.

The high court had in October 2015 quashed the Delhi govern-ment’s petition for getting the

accounts of the power discoms audited by the CAG for allegedly overcharging consumers.

The private utilities had maintained that they were pri-vate companies and not govern-ment entities and did not come within the purview of CAG.

Criticising the HC verdict, Dhawan told the court that the Delhi government had 49 per cent stake in the discoms. “CAG is a constitutional body and it is clearly stated that who all it can audit. It was wrong on the HC’s part to hold that the exercise to examine the account books of these companies would be a

futile exercise,” Dhawan said.“The CAG functions under

the Constitution as an instru-mentality for ensuring account-ability and probity by placing its reports in the Parliament/Legislature and any inter-pretation that whittles or waters down the jurisdiction are contrary to the mandate under Article 149 and against principles of Parliamentary democracy…. Merely because a body is under the purview of a regulator the mandate of CAG cannot be ousted,” the CAG told SC in its appeal against the HC verdict.

Shradha Chettri■ shradha.chettri@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Poor parents applying for nursery admission in schools run by the municipal corpora-tions in the city are having a tough time.

While some schools are tell-ing the parents applying under the Economically Weaker Section/Disadvantaged (EWS/DG) category to apply online as mandated by the Delhi govern-ment, others are turning appli-cants away saying admissions would take place in April.

These problems have been reported from schools in Rohini, Yamuna Vihar, Seelampur and Patparganj.

“I had gone to the school near

my house and they told me to apply online. However, when I went and checked online, the schools cannot be found. I am really worried what to do,” said Shikha Sharma, who lives in a slum at Yamuna Vihar. She had gone to fill the form for her daughter.

The Directorate of Education

(DoE) circular mentioned that under EWS admission sched-ule, the schools up to elemen-tary level recognised by DoE under RTE Act, 2009, schools up to primary level recognised by local authorities and schools up to primary level recognised by DoE under RTE Act, 2009 and which are now regulated by local authorities will not be a part of the online admission process.

Another parent, Bunty Kumar, who lives in Amar Jyoti Colony, Rohini, who had gone to an MCD school, was told that admissions will take place in April.

Though these schools were asked to follow the offline proc-ess, the schools had to stick to the general nursery admission

schedule as per the government notification.

Municipal officials, however, asserted that the schools will have to follow the Delhi govern-ment norms.

“The DoE is a regulatory authority and gover ns all schools in the city, whether it be recognized by DoE, or MCD or NDMC. The schools cannot turn away parents they will have to follow the rule,” said Harsh Malhotra, Mayor, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).

One of the members of a school management, who did not want to be named, also said they were confused and thought they are part of the online admission process.

MCD schools turn away poor students