CAG audit reveals wasteful spending, non-functional tourism assets in Arunachal

Itanagar, Mar 12: A performance audit by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on “Development of Tourism Infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh” has found major deficiencies in planning, execution and monitoring of tourism projects in the state.

The audit, covering the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22 and presented in the Assembly on March 10 by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, flagged wasteful expenditure, diversion of funds, award of work to ineligible contractors and several non-functional assets.

The CAG report also flagged serious lapses such as inadequate tourism policy framework, ad-hoc project implementation and lack of proper monitoring mechanisms.

Despite the 2003 state tourism policy, emphasising the preparation of a comprehensive master plan, the state government did not take any steps for development of high-potential tourism areas, the report said.

As a result, the Tourism Department executed projects on an ad-hoc basis without conducting feasibility studies at the ground level.

The audit further found that in six projects, the project sites were shifted from the approved locations without obtaining approval from the Union Tourism ministry, the sanctioning authority.

In another instance, the tourism director drew Rs 6.17 crore from government accounts between February 2019 and March 2022 and parked the funds in demand drafts for periods ranging from six months to nearly five years.

The audit observed that the funds were withdrawn without immediate requirement to avoid lapse of Budget grants, which violated Rule 100(2) of the Central Government Account (Receipt and Payment) Rules, 1983.

The report also highlighted that 14 projects taken up under the Planning and Investment Division of the Department of Development (PIDDC) were abandoned after incurring significant expenditure.

Three projects were abandoned after spending between 63 and 94% of the agreement value, while the remaining 11 were discontinued after spending 10 to 43.86%.

As the incomplete projects were neither taken up under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme nor completed by the state government, the total expenditure of Rs 14.01 crore incurred on them was rendered wasteful, the report said.

During joint physical inspections, the audit detected that payments amounting to Rs 8.16 crore were made for components that were not executed despite being recorded as completed in the measurement books.

The report noted that such payments were not only irregular but could also be fraudulent and required detailed investigation.

The audit body also found that 41 tourism assets created at a cost of Rs 87.92 crore during the review period remained non-functional and idle for periods ranging from seven months to as long as 109 months as of March 31, 2023.

The CAG recommended that the tourism department ensure recovery of short deductions of statutory dues from the firms concerned and impose appropriate penalties against the drawing and disbursing officer responsible.

It also advised the department to take steps to revive and complete the abandoned projects and ensure that the assets created are put to use after completion.

PTI