New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Referring to a CAG report of 2022, a parliamentary panel has flagged “irregularities” in the setting up of Indian Cultural Centres by the country’s missions in the US and France.
It pointed out that despite being aware that a 103-year-old property purchased in Washington in 2013 had “significant structural concerns”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not opt out of buying it, and consequently took on “avoidable liabilities”.
The Public Accounts Committee (2025-2026), in its report presented to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, has flagged “failure” of several Indian missions and posts abroad in extending the “revised rate of exchange (RoE)” for local currencies as prescribed by the MEA for calculating visa fee in the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme, which led to revenue shortfall of Rs 58.23 crore during the 2017-2020 period.
The committee, therefore, enjoins upon the MEA to “conduct a thorough enquiry” in both the matters of application of incorrect exchange rates and setting up of the Indian Cultural Centres in Washington and Paris, and “fix accountability” on erring officials in headquarters and missions/posts, the report says.
The panel has further recommended “appropriate administrative action” against the officers, including disciplinary proceedings wherever warranted, for non-compliance with ministry directives, failure to maintain proper records, circumventing ministry’s orders and inefficient and delayed utilisation of the properties acquired in Washington and Paris and a prolonged time period taken for renovation.
The report — ‘Short collection of fees due to application of incorrect exchange rate in fixing the fees for Overseas Citizenship of India Card scheme and Irregularities in setting up of Indian Cultural Centres by Indian Missions at Washington and Paris’ — is based on “Para. 2.1 and 2.2 of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) report” of 2022 relating to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The audit brought up the issue of the purchase of two properties for setting up Indian Cultural Centres (ICCs) at Paris (2011) and Washington (2013) by the MEA, “which could not be put to use as cultural centres even after a lapse of 11 and nine years respectively, as of 2022,” the report adds.
“The expenditure incurred on the purchase of property for ICC Washington, along with its renovation and refurbishment amounting to Rs 41.93 crore, remained unused.
“Similarly, the property for ICC Paris procured at a cost of Rs 30.03 crore (2011) remained unused as on June 2022. In addition, an irregular expenditure of Rs 14.89 crore incurred on hiring a local security agency for an under-renovation building,” it said.
The committee has observed that in the two audit paragraphs pertaining to the MEA, “discrepancies in application of rates of exchange led to loss of revenue”.
Besides, there was “infructuous expenditure” in acquiring and managing properties in Washington DC and Paris, while both properties “remained unused for more than a decade,” it flagged.
The committee has observed that persistent issues of deviations by officials from prescribed financial rules and extant instructions regarding exchange rates, absence of documentation, insufficient monitoring by the ministry and “lack of due diligence” in property acquisitions reflect a “culture of laxity” and have resulted in “considerable financial and reputational loss to the government exchequer”.
It emphasised that accountability, transparency, and financial prudence must form the core principles guiding all actions of the ministry and its missions abroad.
The Embassy of India in Washington DC, purchased the property in August 2013 at 1438 U-Street, “for a consideration of USD 5.75 million, with a view to having its own cultural centre which now remains in an abandoned condition and is unsuitable for conduct of any cultural activities,” the report flagged.
Audit findings indicate that before acquiring the said property, the embassy was aware of a neighbouring petrol station, existing encroachments, and a structural stability report identifying issues such as water infiltration, roof needing replacement, deteriorated floor joints, and potential costs to repair the damaged marble facade.
Additionally, the report specified that the second floor was suitable only for office use and would require further analysis to confirm its capacity for gatherings.
The Committee notes that “despite full awareness of the property’s structural defects, the extensive renovations required, and associated encroachments, the ministry issued a revised sanction of USD 8.15 million in July 2013”.
The MEA later accorded approval to hire an architect-consultant for interior renovation only in August 2015.
The consultant’s independent analysis in November 2015 of the property revealed signs of distress, impaired structural integrity, water infiltration, large cracks within stone in the main entrance, cracks on the ground floor and potentially missing end-support in the second floor etc., the report adds.
According to the audit, the Indian embassy in Washington subsequently dropped the renovation proposal of the ‘U-Street’ property in May 2019 “on the plea that US government had offered a separate plot for the Embassy and suggested that no further expenditure be incurred on renovation of the property and also suggested to lease an alternate property which could serve as the cultural centre on a temporary basis,” the panel says.
The committee said it understands that both the embassy and the MEA “deviated from guidelines” requiring them to refrain from purchasing properties involving huge renovation costs and associated legal issues.
The audit noted that the MEA resorted to “injudicious acquisition” of the property by incurring expenditure of Rs 41.93 crore (up to September 2021) without any intended result.
The committee said it finds that “despite the fact that the ministry was aware that the 103-year-old property had significant structural concerns as well as issues of encroachment, it did not opt out of the procurement of the same and consequently took on avoidable liabilities”. PTI KND NSD NSD
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