What a CAG audit of Chhattisgarh’s local bodies shows

In its report, the CAG said that an audit in March 2020 revealed that the Korba Municipal Corporation made an excess payment of Rs 7.88 crore to a contractor, although the civic body eventually deducted the excess payment with an additional interest of Rs 50 lakh after repeated follow ups by the CAG. The body has now recommended action against officials.

“We will do a thorough probe and if anyone is found guilty action will be taken,” Korba collector Ajeet Vasant told The Indian Express.

The audit also found irregularities in the Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Urban Local Bodies. According to the CAG, a sum of Rs 3.69 crore was spent on infrastructure, machines, and vehicles without planning or need, resulting in “idling of these facilities and unfruitful expenditure of the said amount”.

This includes Rs 2 crore spent on 10 compost machines that were never used due to lack of basic infrastructure, Rs 81.72 lakh spent on five unutilised Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) centres and a compost shed in four Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). It also includes Rs 46.61 lakh that was spent on nine bailing, and Rs 24 lakh spent on eight e-rickshaws in Kanker that became unserviceable because of poor maintenance, the report shows.

Unplanned and inadequate construction of material recovery facilities such as Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) centres without additional infrastructure/manpower resulted in unsegregated waste being dumped in open areas, the report said, adding that 12 such unauthorised dumping sites were found in nine ULBs.

Apart from financial irregularities the report also points to the budget cuts as well as underutilisation of funds in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and ULBs against the recommendations of the State Finance Commission.

On budget cuts, the audit report states, “Against the total allocation of Rs 15,795 crore (funds from state as well as centre) from 2016 to 2022 the expenditure of the PRIs was Rs 12,902 crores. The reason for savings was not intimated by the department”.

Similarly, while Rs 7,041.83 crore was to be allocated between 2017 and 2022 according to the State Finance Commission’s recommendations, the actual allocation was Rs 4,330.96 and the actual funds released was Rs 3,903.39 crore.

Funds allocated to the ULBs too showed a similar pattern, the report shows. For instance, while the budget Rs 538 crore was to be allocated to ULBs in 2021-22, the actual allocation was Rs 451.45 crore and the actual funds released stood at 299.67 crore.