Be it the allocation of 2G spectrum or the conduct of the Commonwealth Games, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has rarely lost an opportunity to present itself as a corruption watchdog. But when it comes to turning the gaze within, it has a lot of explaining to do.

After the subject was taken up at workshops organised at the CAG's academy in Shimla in 2009-2010, an unprecedented analysis of the "cancer of corruption" in field offices and staff was commissioned, but when the report was finally circulated four months ago, it was quietly withdrawn within days.

No official copy is available with the CAG now but a copy, obtained by The Sunday Express, reveals a sweeping range of irregularities detected: from seeking unauthorised favours to fudging of audit records, demanding bribes by staff to fake audits being used as blackmail.

The report has been authored by S B Pillay, who is Deputy Additional CAG in New Delhi, and was assigned the task of analysing the extent of corruption within. The result was his 24-page booklet titled: "The challenge of the coming decade: combating corruption in field offices."

In the report, Pillay admits that participants at workshops conducted in Shimla "unanimously agreed that corruption exists at all levels including Group A..." and that "the cancer (of corruption) has spread to the good parts as well." Sources said that such a frank admission in the report  marked for "internal use only"  was perhaps one reason the report was withdrawn after a large number of copies were circulated - along with a covering letter - at the CAG's headquarters in New Delhi.

Contacted, CAG spokesperson B S Chauhan said that the report was withdrawn since it was more of an "introspection" and not based on documentary evidence or specifics. "It was an internal exercise containing impressions and introspection and, subsequently, other steps have been taken by the GAG to tackle the issue of integrity deficit."

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