The Students’ Union Constitution calls for the creation of the Election Commission to check the legislative powers of representatives, and the Corroboration and Review Committee (CRC) to oversee finances and prevent the misappropriation of funds. As most of CRC’s work takes place behind the scenes, the average BITSian is unaware of its powers and duties with a lot of misconceptions existing about the body’s work. A conversation with Sanskriti Chitransh went a long way towards clarifying the nature and role of the Committee.

Much of CRC’s day-to-day work involves the awarding of tenders to apparel, cab, and printing vendors over the semester or for a fest, approving club and department budgets, processing payments to artists arriving for fests, and working with the StuCCA and CoStAA in making critical decisions concerning the fests. It is here that the role of CRC becomes especially important – while there exists an upward pressure to raise ticket prices, CRC represents the interests of the average BITSian in insisting that prices be lowered at council meetings. Further, the process of awarding fest tenders leads to deals being cut on the side at times, and CRC works to prevent and investigate any potential embezzlement of funds.

Sanskriti was prompt in answering why she had joined the committee – ‘I wanted to understand the fests better, particularly the details of how things were managed and planned. Also, I was paying 450 bucks per semester in Students’ Union fees, and I wished to see what that was all about.’ A year later, she’s more appreciative of the body’s work and its challenges, readily conceding that executing CRC’s anti-corruption responsibility was proving to be difficult. ‘At such a scale, the importance of a supervising body increases tremendously, and it is an uphill task to follow transactions so as to make sure they’re all free from a hint of illegality’, she remarked.

When questioned about what CRC looks for in potential recruits, she grew pensive. ‘Above all, we look for people who have high ethical standards and can stand pressure in extreme situations’. She emphasized the thankless nature of the job, stating that the work was largely invisible to the average BITSian. ‘The lack of external appreciation often means that we need to be driven by our own moral conviction’, she concluded.

As the scale of fests and the SU’s work continues to rise, it becomes even more essential to have a vigilant and powerful watchdog working to prevent any instance of fraud. Here’s wishing the Corroboration and Review Committee the best.