CAG flags ‘risk of data tampering’ in NRC for Assam

India

pti-PTI

Updating
of
the
1951
NRC
for
Assam
was
done
under
directions
of
Supreme
Court
in
order
to
detect
illegal
citizens
who
had
entered
the
state
after
March
25,
1971.

Guwahati,
Dec
25:
The
Comptroller
and
Auditor
General
of
India
has
flagged
the
“risk
of
data
tampering”
in
the
NRC
for
Assam,
due
to
“improper”
software
development
related
to
data
capture
and
correction
during
the
updation
process
of
the
citizenship
document.

A
highly
secure
and
reliable
software
was
required
to
be
developed
for
the
National
Register
of
Citizens
(NRC)
updation
exercise,
but
during
the
audit,
“lack
of
proper
planning
in
this
regard”
came
to
the
fore.

The
updated
final
NRC,
which
validates
bonafide
Indian
citizens
of
Assam,
was
released
on
August
31,
2019,
with
total
3,11,21,004
names
included
out
of
3,30,27,661
applicants,
though
it
is
yet
to
be
notified.
The
CAG
submitted
a
report
for
the
year
ended
in
2020,
on
the
last
day
of
the
winter
session
of
the
Assam
Assembly
on
Saturday,
which
pointed
out
that
215
software
utilities
were
added
in
a
“haphazard
manner”
to
the
core
software.

It
was
done
“without
following
the
due
process
of
either
software
development
or
selection
of
vendor
through
eligibility
assessment
following
a
national
tendering,”
the
report
said.
“Haphazard
development
of
software
and
utilities
for
NRC
data
capture
and
correction
posed
the
risk
of
data
tampering,
without
leaving
any
audit
trail.

The
audit
trail
could
have
ensured
accountability
for
the
veracity
of
NRC
data,”
the
CAG
report
said.
It
maintained
that
the
objective
of
preparing
a
valid
error-free
NRC
has
not
been
met
despite
entailing
huge
expenditure
to
the
state
exchequer.
According
to
the
report,
there
have
been
irregularities
in
the
utilisation
of
funds,
including
excess
and
inadmissible
payment
to
vendors.

The
CAG
report
on
compliance
audit
of
‘logistical
arrangements
for
NRC
updation
project
in
Assam’,
recommended
fixing
responsibility
on
erring
authorities
for
the
financial
irregularities
and
penal
action
against
M/s
Wipro
Limited,
the
system
integrator,
for
violating
Minimum
Wages
Act.
The
NRC
was
updated
in
Assam
under
the
supervision
of
a
Supreme
Court
bench.

The
CAG
report
maintained
that
the
objective
of
preparing
a
valid
error-free
NRC
has
not
been
met
despite
entailing
huge
expenditure
to
the
state
exchequer.
It
noted
that
the
initial
project
cost
was
estimated
at
Rs
288.18
crore
when
the
NRC
updation
process
had
commenced
in
December
2014
and
the
deadline
for
completion
was
set
for
February
2015.

The
final
draft
of
the
document
was,
however,
published
in
August
2019
and
the
project
cost
escalated
to
Rs
1,602.66
crore
(expenditure
of
Rs
1,579.78
crore
was
reported),
the
CAG
report
said.
It
said
that
test
check
of
records
by
audit
has
revealed
“various
irregularities
in
the
utilisation
of
fund
including
excess
and
inadmissible
payment
to
vendors”.

The
report
has
recommended
fixing
of
responsibility
and
action
against
the
State
Coordinator
of
National
Registration
(SCNR)
for
the
excess,
irregular
and
inadmissible
payments.
The
commissioner
and
secretary,
political
department,
government
of
Assam,
was
designated
as
the
SCNR
to
carry
out
the
NRC
updation
exercise.
Mentioning
non-adherence
to
Minimum
Wages
Act
in
payment
to
operators
by
M/s
Wipro
Limited
as
revealed
during
its
audit,
the
CAG
recommended
penal
action
against
the
system
integrator.

“Accountability
of
the
SCNR,
as
principal
employer,
should
also
be
fixed
for
not
ensuring
compliance
with
the
MW
Act,”
the
report
added.
Assam,
which
had
faced
influx
of
people
from
Bangladesh
since
the
early
20th
century,
is
the
only
state
having
an
NRC
which
was
first
prepared
in
1951.