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Gurdwara Commission scraps SGPC move to outsource auditing
WSN Network

AMRITSAR: In a major jolt to the SGPC, a latest decision of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission has put a question mark on the integrity and non-partisanship of the top SGPC brass. The Commission stayed a decision of the SGPC to outsource auditing of its accounts to a private firm for a fee of Rs 3.5 lakh every month.

The SGJC ruling came on Tuesday and the operations of the private firm were stayed. Akali leader Baldev Singh Sirsa had challenged the allotment of work and asked for a stay on the firm's operations till a final decision on his petition.

SGJC Bench comprising its president Manmohan Singh Brar and members Amrik Singh Randhawa and Ajwant Singh Mann said the SGPC had violated norms by allotting the work in a "hush-hush manner". Apart from cancelling the allotment of work, the petitioner had sought to expel SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and secretary Dalmegh Singh for the lapse.

Interestingly though, the petitioner had forgotten to make the SGPC Executive a party in the case. It was the SGPC Executive that had allotted the work by passing a resolution on January 15, 2009.

The SGPC had started paying Rs 3.5 lakh monthly to S.S. Kohli firm and an almost equal amount was pledged to it for gurdwaras listed under Section 85 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act.

Petitioner Baldev Singh contended that given the availability of SGPC's own accounts, auditing, inspection and computer staff, there was no need to outsource work.

"Moreover, the SGPC staff avoided adopting the set procedure of inviting tenders, maintaining transparency in allotment of work," the petition alleged. He also sought the recovery of the amount with 18 per cent per annum interest from the firm.

21 October 2009
 

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