GUWAHATI, March 30 � The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has detected 15 cases of suspected fraudulent drawal or misappropriation involving Rs 54 crore 97 lakh and 49 thousand in the transactions of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) during 2007 and 2009 fiscals.
Details of the misappropriation of the above sum have been provided by the CAG in its report of the Government of Assam (Civil), for the year ended on March 31, 2011(Report No 2). The CAG conducted a special audit of the transactions of the NCHAC. The report of the CAG was tabled in the State Assembly here today.
Explaining, the CAG said in its report, the NCHAC drew Rs 11 crore from district fund between May 5 and 28, 2007. This was not accounted for in the cash book and details of utilisation were not available on record. Thus, misappropriation of Rs 11 crore could not be ruled out.
The Autonomous Council failed to produce details of the utilisation in support of Rs 7 crore withdrawn from the district fund for implementation of its agriculture mission between October 17,2007 and March 18, 2009, raising concerns about its misappropriation.
The Health and Family Welfare Department of the Council also failed to furnish utilisation and whereabouts of Rs 1.75 crore after its withdrawal from the district fund between November 2007 and March 2009 for purchase of medicine, implementation of health care scheme and incentives to doctors. Thus, misappropriation of this amount could not be ruled out, the CAG said.
The Council released Rs 5.94 crore to the Executive Engineer (EE) of its Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) between June 2008 and March 2009 for maintenance of the water supply schemes. But, no step was take to ensure receipt of materials or execution of works in respect of the payment of Rs 1.98 crore made to eight contractors and suppliers during January�February 2009.
In addition, Rs 19 lakh was also drawn by the E E during January- February 2009. But, details of the schemes and contractor-wise payments etc were not furnished to audit, though called for. This amount remained unrecovered, the CAG said.
It said that there was a doubtful expenditure by the PHED E E of Rs 1.30 crore. This payment he had made as a part payment to suppliers against ten orders for supply of galvanized iron (GI) pipes, pre-stress (PS) plates, diesel pump sets etc under Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme in January 2008. The EE failed to furnish receipt and details of utilisation of the materials paid for. This has made the entire expenditure doubtful, the CAG said.
The CAG also reported misappropriation of a fund of Rs 2.20 crore by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Autonomous Council. The NCHAC withdrew the said amount on January 30, 2009 from the district fund for clearing the outstanding liabilities of the Haflong and Mahur PWD divisions. But the amount was neither entered in the cash book nor any document in support of the release to the division concerned were made available to audit though called for. Thus, this amount was misappropriated, the CAG said.
The PWD also spent Rs 27.49 lakh in August 2007, for removal of soil and rock that came during the incidents of landslide in January 2007. But the measurement of the rock and soil thus cleared is not possible and thus the entire expenditure has become doubtful.
The CAG could not trace an amount of Rs 3.88 crore spent by the PWD, as, the Department failed to furnish the whereabouts of the said amount said to be spent as part of an amount of Rs 33.13 crore released for implementation of ten road schemes between October 2007 and March 2008.
The Deputy Director, Social Welfare, Haflong drew Rs 1.79 crore towards old age pension between July and November 2007. But the entire expenditure remained doubtful due to absence of supporting documents, said the CAG.
