CAG raises concerns on data tampering in Assam’s NRC updation process

• There are “various irregularities in the utilisation of fund including excess and inadmissible payment to vendors”
• There is “risk of data tampering” in the NRC for Assam due to “improper” software development related to data capture
• 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

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has said that there is “risk of data tampering” in the National Register of Citizen (CRC) for Assam due to “improper” software development related to data capture and correction during the updation process.

The CAG suggested that highly reliable software was required to be developed for the NRC updation exercise, but during the audit, “lack of proper planning in this regard” came to the fore, as per media reports. The updated final NRC 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, according to PTI. 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.

The CAG also said that the objective of preparing an error-free NRC has not been met despite entailing huge expenditure to the state exchequer, stating that due to time over run. It noted 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, reported PTI.

According to CAG report, there are “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.

“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.Risk of data tampering in Assam’s NRC updation process: CAG report

The NRC was updated in Assam under the supervision of a Supreme Court bench.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM