CUTTACK: An audit of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for the financial year 2019-20 has unearthed huge irregularities and revenue loss amounting to crores of rupees. Sample this: Payments were made for tractors to lift and dispose waste but the registration number verification showed the vehicles were two-wheelers, the 283-page audit which indicted three officials of the civic body for the financial frauds said.
It pointed out undue favour and fictitious payments made to a firm engaged in solid waste management including irregularities in the issue of diesel and payment towards repair of fogging machines. The audit also questioned why the civic body provided cleaning materials amounting Rs 3,46,564 to the private agency BBGMSPL which is in charge of waste management of 36 wards.
When the auditing agency - Directorate of Local Fund Audit under the Finance department - issued an objection memo, CMC did not furnish any reply nor defended the queries.
"The CMC has with no reason shown favour to the tenderer which has caused an obvious loss to the civic body. It is quite surprising that in spite of audit objections raised previously, the practice of issuing materials is still going on deviating the terms and conditions of the agreement. Had these materials not been issued to the private agency, they could have been utilised in some wards of CMC and money to that extent would have been saved," stated the report.
It added that the officials in charge of handling the cleaning materials store 'might be having nexus to benefit themselves and the firm at the cost of civic body funds' and suggested recovery of the amount from CMC's Health Officer who is responsible to provide the items to the private agency.
The alleged frauds do not stop here. During scrutiny of the issue of fuel to vehicles (tractors) engaged by the private agency for lifting and transporting of garbage to the dumping yard, the audit on cross verification through Vahana portal detected them to be two-wheelers.
It was noticed the civic body issued 4,666 litres of diesel amounting Rs 3,31,204 showing use of tractors leading to huge embezzlement of public funds.
"Since these vehicles are not tractors, the trips of garbage shown lifted by those fictitious vehicles and the corresponding payment to the tune of Rs 2,76,21,033 made against skilled and unskilled labourers shown to have been engaged towards loading and unloading works are simply fake," the audit report said.
Similarly, the CMC had shown to have incurred expenditure amounting Rs 6,35,336 towards repairing 30 fogging machines in 2019-20. The audit went through the previous payments and came to know that in February 2019, the civic body spent Rs 4,89,682 towards repair and maintenance of 59 fogging machines.
The audit report stated that the expenditure has been incurred for the same within a period of one year without any tender. Till a satisfactory compliance is submitted by the CMC, the expenditure amounting Rs 3,50,14,800 is kept under objection.
Meanwhile, the audit report held three other officials including the Finance Officer, Auditor and a Junior Assistant of CMC for the irregularities and suggested recovery from them in proportion to their responsibility.