CAG AUDIT REPORT ON ASSAMS NRC
1. Context
A recent Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) report on the update exercise of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has flagged serious irregularities, including "haphazard development" of software for the exercise, making it prone to data tampering, and flagged undue profits worth crores amassed by the system integrator (SI) by violating the Minimum Wages Act.
2. What is the NRC Exercise?
- NRC is a register prepared in respect of each village, showing the houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or holding the number and names of persons staying therein.
- The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India and since then it has not been updated until recently.
- It has been updated in Assam only for now and the government plans to update it nationally as well.
- Purpose: To separate "illegal" immigrants from "legitimate" residents.
- Nodal agency: Register General and Census Commissioner India.
2.1 Status of the NRC elsewhere in the Northeast
Assam is the only state in the region that undertook an exercise to update the NRC of 1951 with 24th March 1971, as the cut-off date for citizenship of a person.
Nagaland attempted a similar exercise called RIIN (Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) in June 2019 to primarily shift the indigenous Nagas from the non-indigenous Nagas.
3. What does the CAG audit report say?
- The CAG Report (March 2020) was submitted before the Assam Assembly on December 24th, 2022.
- According to the report, 215 software were added to the core software in an irregular manner without following the due process to select the software or the vendor.
- The report concluded that a process like the NRC required secure and reliable tools in order to meet the goals of a valid and error-free NRC document. The haphazard adoption of software could potentially have led to data tampering without leaving behind an adult trail, thereby compromising the outcome of the NRC exercise.
- The costs involved with the project increased from the projected 288.28 Crore to 1602.66 Crore as a result of the delays in the adoption process.
4. Impact of NRC
- The updated NRC will end the controversy over the number of migrants in Assam specifically and the country as a whole.
- It will act as a verified data set for effective government policy action.
- A comprehensive NRC will deter illegal migration and make it harder to obtain false identity documents.
- Bengali-speaking people of the Northeast can prove they are Indian and not Bangladeshi migrants.
5. Challenges of NRC
- The process has been flawed with many errors and omissions from the list including the family of a former President of India.
- Parallel updation of NRC and voter's list in Assam have complicated the process leading to confusion among citizens.
- Judiciary has become overburdened due to the increased number of cases challenging the results.
- People excluded from the list face an uncertain future as the government has yet to make a decision on their futures.
- Communal violence and political interests have affected the neutrality of the exercise.
6. CAG Recommendations
- The Country's top auditor sought penal measures against Wipro Limited for violating the Provisions of the Minimum Wages Act and for paying data operators less than minimum wages.
- Secondly, the report recommended action against the State Coordinator of National Registration (SCNR) for "excess, irregular and inadmissible payments".
- The CAG also recommended fixing accountability of the SCNR as the principal employer for "not ensuring compliance with the Minimum Wage Act".
6.1 About CAG
- CAG is a Constitutional Body and Article 148 provides for an independent office of the CAG. It is the supreme audit institution of India.
- Article 149-151: Duties & Powers, Form of Accounts of the Union and the States, and Audit Reports.
- Article 279-Calculation of net proceeds, etc.
- Not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he ceases to hold his office.
- Salary and other service conditions are determined by the parliament.
- No minister can represent the CAG in Parliament.
For Prelims & Mains
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For Prelims: Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG), National Register of Citizens (NRC), Minimum Wages Act, Census of India, RIIN (Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland), and State Coordinator of National Registration (SCNR).
For Mains: 1. What is the National Register of Citizens (NRC)? What will be the impact of updating NRC and explain the associated challenges involved in it?
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Source: The Hindu
