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strategies and plans to address such risks effectively. This, the SDMA has to achieve through the State Executive Committee. Further, a pre-condition to risk assessment is the establishment of
objectives, linked at different levels and internally consistent. Risk assessment is the identiication and analysis of relevant risks to achievement of the objectives, forming a basis for determining
how the risks should be managed. Following instances highlight the non-existence of a responsive control environment and corresponding risk assessment exercise aimed at addressing disaster
management related concerns:-
i The State Disaster Management Plan, as prescribed under Section 18 of Act, was not in existence at the time of June 2013 disaster;
ii The related policies and guidelines for implementing the SDMP were not formulated in the State;
iii SOPs had also not been developed by the line departments; iv The Act came into effect in 2005. Since then, there were suficient inputs with the State
Government regarding underlying risk analysis for developing the SDMP, for example the report of DMMC, the report on glaciers and the previous audit recommendations. However,
the State Government had not initiated development of a holistic plan to address the risks till June 2013 by providing adequate budgetary provisions for mitigating the disaster impacts.
v Shortage of essential commodities in almost all the test-checked districts was noticed and buffer stock of essential commodities for three months had not been maintained. These
districts did not have adequate storage capacity also.
8.1.2 Control Activities
Control activities are the policies and procedures that help ensure management directives are carried out and necessary actions are taken to address risks for achievement of the entity’s objectives.
Control activities occur throughout the organization, at all levels and in all functions. They include a range of activities as diverse as approvals, authorizations, veriications, reconciliations, reviews
of operating performance, security of assets and segregation of duties. Audit however observed the following:-
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i No review of norms and codes had been carried out by the State Government. The reliefex- gratia payments were granted distributed on pre-bifurcation norms.
ii Inadequate control of higher oficers over the preparation of preliminary reports and lack of cross veriication of losses with available relevant records indicated weak internal controls in
the entire exercise of providing relief and restoring essential infrastructure.
iii The State Government did not have any mechanism in place to register the Char-Dham pilgrims either at the entry points for the pilgrimage or at the base camps.
iv The funds that had been released to the severely affected as well as other districts of the State from different sources of funds like the SDRF, PMRF and CMRF were yet to be inally
adjusted to correct heads of accounts even after a lapse of more than a year of the disaster.
v In the test-checked districts, against the 1,930 sanctioned restoration works, third party inspection had not been carried out in 1,262 works 65 per cent despite lapse of considerable
time. This resulted in the substantial delays in the execution and releasing of inal instalments to the executing agencies.
8.1.3 Information and Communication
Information and communication are essential to the realisation of the all internal control objectives. One of the objectives of internal control in a government organisation is fulilling
public accountability obligations. This can be achieved by developing and maintaining reliable and relevant inancial and non-inancial information and communicating this information by means
of a fair disclosure in timely reports. Information and communication relating to the organisation’s performance will create the possibility to evaluate the orderliness, ethicality, economy, eficiency
and effectiveness of operations. Audit scrutiny showed that the public accountability and transparency was lacking on account of the following:-
i No separate grievance redressal cell had been established either at the district level or at the Tehsil level for speedy disposal of complaints made by the affected people in respect
of distribution of ex-gratia reliefunder estimated compensation granted under the different categories of losses suffered by the affected people. As of February 2015, 3,464 complaints
were received in the four districts Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi of
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test-checked districts
1
, out of which only 1,392 40 per cent complaints were attended to. For the remaining 2,072 complaints, no pursuance for speedy investigationdisposal was being
initiated at the district level.
ii No speciic fraud deterrent mechanism was found to be in place either at the district level or at the Tehsil level to safeguard against the fraudulent claims ghost beneiciaries.
iii The Department did not have a sound communication network in place at the time of disaster which stopped the low of information and hampered rescue operations.
8.1.4 Monitoring
