DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON DELIVERY OF CITIZEN SERVICES BY TIRUNELVELI CITY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ___________________________________________________________________ Office of the Principal Accountant General (General and Social Sector Audit) Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chennai-18. INDEX Sl. No. Content Page No. 1 Introduction 3 2 Organisational framework 3 3 Financial performance 3 4 Services rendered by the Corporation 4 5 Scope of audit and audit coverage 5 6 Audit objectives 6 7 Audit criteria 6 8 Sample selection 7 9 Audit design matrix 7 10 Time schedule 7 11 Procedural issues 7 12 Annexure [2] Draft Guidelines for Performance Audit on ‘Delivery of Citizen services by Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation’ 1. Introduction Tirunelveli City, the headquarters of Tirunelveli District, spreads over an area of 108.65 Square Kilometer with a population of 4.75 lakh (2011 census). The City was constituted as Municipality in 1864 and subsequently, as City Municipal Corporation in March 1994 under the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation Act 1994 (TN Act 28 of 1994). As per section 8 (4) of the said Act, any reference to the Coimbatore Corporation shall by reason of the Act be construed as a reference to Tirunelveli Corporation. The Municipal Corporation is divided into 55 Wards grouped into four Zones namely Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai, Melapalayam and Thatchanallur to make the administration more efficient and responsive. 2. Organisational framework Principal Secretary to the Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department is the overall head at the Government level. The Commissioner of Municipal Administration is the head of the Department, who is responsible for monitoring the functions of the Municipal Corporations. The Commissioner of the City Municipal Corporation is the head of the administrative wing responsible for management and general administration of the Corporation and is assisted by a City Engineer, City Health Officer and other officials. Each zonal office is headed by the Assistant Commissioner. The Mayor is the ex-officio member and Chairperson of the Corporation Council assisted by the Deputy Mayor, who is also an elected representative and each Ward is headed by a Councilor, an elected representative. 3. Financial performance All moneys received by the Corporation are constituted under “Municipal Fund”, which was divided into three components viz. General Fund, Water supply and Drainage Fund and Elementary Education Fund. The primary sources of Municipal Fund are Tax revenues, Non-tax revenues, Grants, borrowings and income from investments. Tax revenue includes property tax, profession tax and advertisement tax and Non-tax revenue includes rent, lease rent, fees and user charges. The corporation receives general grants from State and Central Government, specific grants, scheme grants and assigned revenues viz. duty on transfer of property, [3] Entertainment Tax etc. The Corporation borrows loan on short-term/ long-term and derives income from investments. The Municipal Fund is to be utilised for all obligatory or discretionary functions and in general everything necessary for or conducive to the safety, health, convenience, or education of the inhabitants or to the amenities of the Corporation and everything incidental to the administration. The details of receipts and expenditure of the Corporation, as per the budget proposals for the years 2012-17, are given below: (Rupees in Crore) Budget estimate Revised estimate Actuals Year Receipts Expenditure Receipts Expenditure Receipts Expenditure 2012-13 101.93 105.09 98.51 108.98 94.05 104.22 2013-14 137.52 140.90 131.55 143.92 131.84 132.60 2014-15 173.50 180.71 172.79 179.66 124.68 178.11 2015-16 200.93 210.10 201.46 208.50 Under finalisation 2016-17 221.32 229.61 Not available Not available Not available Total 835.20 866.41 4. Services rendered by the Corporation The Twelfth Schedule to the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Article 243W) had devolved 18 functions to the Urban Local Bodies. Out of 18 functions, the Government of Tamil Nadu has devolved 17functions1 to the Urban Local Bodies. The Corporation implements the devolved functions through various schemes,which inter alia included Water Supply Improvement Scheme, Underground Sewerage Scheme, Solid Waste Management scheme, Integrated Urban Development Mission (IUDM), Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Programme (TURIP), Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), Special Road Programme, Swarna Jeyanthi Shahari Rojgar Yojana(SJSRY). Besides, the Corporation provides on-line services under e- 1 water supply, streetlights, roads, drainage, public health, Urban Planning including town planning, regulation of land-use, slum improvement and up-gradation, urban poverty allievation, burials and burial grounds, planning for economic and social development, urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of ecological aspects, safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of the society including the handicapped and mentally retarded, registration of birth and deaths, regulation of slaughter houses and promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects [4] governance in collection of taxes, payment of dues, issue of various certificates and redressal of grievances. 5. Scope of audit and audit coverage The performance audit would focus on the following citizen services that are rendered by the Corporation: Provision and maintenance of water supply, roads and pavements, street lights, public health and sanitation, solid waste management, sewerage facilities, parks and play fields, urban planning, slum improvement, planning for economic and social development, safeguarding the interests of weaker sections, burial/cremation grounds, basic amenities in schools and noon meal centers run by the Corporation. Audit would also cover provision of funds, budgetary controls, planning of works, implementation of e-governance and grievance redressal for effective delivery of citizen services. The performance audit would commence with an entry conference with the Principal Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department to discuss the audit objectives. The entry conference would also provide an opportunity to include specific areas of concern expressed by the Government in the audit objectives. The field visit would include examination of records at the Head office of the Corporation and four zonal offices to study the performance of the Corporation; Head of the Department and Secretariat to study their monitoring role; Government Departments such as Registration Department, Health Department, Statistics Department, Education Department and Town and Country Planning Department, Social Welfare and Noon Meal Programme Department and Pollution Control Board for cross examination of details obtained from the Corporation. Performance Audit would also include field inspection of various assets of the Corporation for ascertaining its utility and gathering evidence through survey questionnaire from the beneficiaries on the extent of provision of amenities in hospitals run by the Corporation. In respect of educational institutions, the [5] responses of the Heads of the Schools would be obtained to ascertain the adequacy of infrastructure facilities available in schools. (Draft Questionnaires enclosed) An exit conference would be held on completion of the performance audit, with the Principal Secretary to the Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department to discuss the outcome of the audit. The performance audit would cover a period of five years from 2012-13 to 2016-17. 6. Audit objectives The objectives of audit are to assess whether: the planning process facilitated effective delivery of citizen services the human and financial resources were adequate and utilised efficiently the citizen services were rendered as per plan and the stated objectives were achieved the delivery of services was effectively monitored including tracking of UN Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) indicators 7. Audit criteria The audit findings would be benchmarked against the following criteria: Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 and Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 Tamil Nadu Town & Country Planning Act, 1971 Town and Country Planning Act and Building Rules 1972 Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Building Rules, 1972 The Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998 Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 Indian Roads Congress guidelines and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways specifications Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939 Central Public Health & Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) Manuals for Water Supply and Sewerage Municipal Budget Manual, Municipal Accounting Manual and Engineering Manual Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation Council resolutions Guidelines for various schemes, orders of Government of Tamil Nadu, executive instructions and circulars issued from time to time [6] 8. Sample selection As the Corporation is a single entity with four zones, test-check of records in all the four zones will be made. Audit will cover all the major schemes taken up by the Corporation for the delivery of citizen services. In certain schemes, where more number of works were taken up, 25 per cent of the total works executed during the years 2012-17 with an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh and above will be taken up for detailed study. The selection of works will be on