The government will take action against auditors of public sector banks found responsible for the anomaly in the Centre's farm loan waiver scheme, according to a senior official. Erring auditors will be barred from taking up any more assignments with state-run banks, the finance ministry official said. "They will be black listed and will not be allowed to audit any public sector firm for at least three years." The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the country's chief auditor, had on Tuesday said 8.5% of the 80,299 farmer accounts audited were found to be ineligible for the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme. The scheme, floated in 2008, wiped off debt aggregating Rs 52,260 crore for the 37.3 million farmers it covered. In its report, the CAG had suggested that bank executives, internal auditors and central statutory auditors who certified the information for passing the claims should be made accountable for the lapses.

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