Irregularities in projects under PMGSY: CAG

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India ( CAG) pointed out several discrepancies and irregularities in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The national auditor has pulled up the scheme for incomplete projects, poor monitoring and infective utilisation of funds — 372 projects in 11 states were abandoned or proposed to be abandoned midway due to non-availability of land after incurring expenditure of Rs 280 crore.

The report also found that 490 road projects were executed or upgraded with incorrect technical specifications. In 26 states, 4,496 projects were running into delays of one month to nearly 11years due to land disputes, paucity of funds and lack of clearances.

While Rs 132 crore spent on 68 projects did not result in all-weather road connectivity, another 36 were provided with more than one connectivity at an additional cost of Rs 29 crore. “Programme and administrative expenses funds were diverted towards inadmissible items,” the audit report said.

The audit was conducted for the period April 2010 to March 2015 covering 4,417 packages in 176 districts of 29 states and involving expenditure of Rs 7,735 crore.The auditor also mentioned in the report that 538 projects were not commenced and subsequently dropped due to non-availability of land or land disputes.

In 13 states, 1,550 projects were dropped or proposed to be dropped for reasons such as deficient planning and remote location.