The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 2012 on the Economic Sector has pointed out major irregularities in the execution of government works through Public Sector Undertakings and also in the conduct of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) by the Tourism Department.
In order to overcome the difficulties of delay and high rates, the government decided to entrust 99 works to PSUs as contractors and another 29 works to them as consultants.
The CAG found that the PSUs got the work executed by contractors and the government incurred loss or excess liability of Rs 104.81 crore,’’ Biju Jacob, Accountant General (Economic and Revenue Sector Audit), Kerala, told a news conference here on Monday.
Earlier, the audit report was tabled in the Assembly.
The CAG found that Kerala State Construction Corporation (KSCC), instead of executing work awarded to it, subcontracted it to contractors and made a profit of Rs 3.68 crore as an intermediary agency, which in turn caused a loss to the government.
The report pointed out huge delay on the part of the KSCC in completing many of the projects awarded to it as contractor.
‘’KSSC entered in pre-tender tie-up and participated in tenders floated by PWD. When the work was executed through contractors, the PSU deducted Rs 9.03 crore as upfront fee,’’ the CAG report said.
GKSF in the Dock
Pointing out major irregularities in the conduct of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) conducted by the Tourism Department, the CAG said that the government launched the scheme without specifying any guidelines or directions for its implementation and hence, the GKSF incurred a loss of Rs 44.58 crore.
‘’In the absence of guidelines for implementation of GKSF, the Director diverted Rs 5.47 crore out of an allotment of Rs 10 crore for meeting festival expenses and the balance was deposited in the current/fixed deposit,’’ the report pointed out.
During the five seasons from 2007-08 to 2012-13, Rs 40.60 crore was spent by Event Management Agencies without supporting vouchers.
The CAG also found out that Rs 1.24 crore incurred towards printing charge became useless as 27.57 lakh coupons printed were unsold.
Loss in Transaction
In the audit of transactions, the CAG found irregularities to the tune of Rs 20.36 crore. This included a bogus water supply scheme in Palakkad, in which the tahasildar of Chittur released Rs 19.95 lakh to the contractor on the basis of unauthenticated trip sheets.
‘’During an examination of the registration number of tanker lorries entered in the trip sheets, we found that the numbers belonged to bikes and cars.
“We have recommended to the government that a Vigilance probe be carried out into the irregularities,’’ Joseph said.