The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged financial
irregularities, project delays and governance lapses in Jharkhand’s
state public sector enterprises in a report tabled in the Assembly.
The report on State Public Sector Enterprises for the period ending
March 2023 pointed to deficiencies in the functioning of the Jharkhand
State Building Construction Corporation Limited (JSBCCL), procurement
practices of the Jharkhand State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation
Limited (JSFCL) and compliance issues in power utilities.
According to the report, JSBCCL undertook 1,328 projects worth Rs
14,020.46 crore since its inception in November 2015, of which only
726 projects valued at Rs 4,291.07 crore were completed.
While 218 works remained in progress and 272 were at the initial
stage, 112 projects were either dropped or stalled due to land issues,
public objections and contractor delays.
The audit also noted that the corporation retained Rs 60.95 crore
received from user departments for abandoned projects in its personal
ledger account for four to seven years.
The report highlighted instances of wasteful expenditure, including a
degree college building constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore that
remained unused due to its proximity to a high-tension transmission
line. An amount of Rs 12.10 crore spent on the incomplete campus of
Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University also remained unutilised after the
project was closed in 2021.
The CAG further pointed out delays and cost overruns in several
projects. Thirty-three works were completed with delays ranging from
three months to four years, while 14 works remained incomplete even
after delays of up to seven years.
In its review of procurement activities of JSFCL, the report observed
delays in payment of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers. Payments
of the first instalment were delayed by up to 775 days and Rs 8.64
crore in MSP remained unpaid to 1,741 farmers as of April 2023.
The audit also found Rs 72.81 crore recoverable from millers for short
deposits of custom-milled rice.
Governance lapses were also highlighted, with only six Board meetings
held between 2019-20 and 2022-23 against the required 16 meetings. The
report noted that annual accounts of the corporation had not been
finalised since its inception in 2010.
In the power sector, Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited incurred an
avoidable expenditure of Rs 5.93 crore due to fresh tenders issued
instead of repeat orders.
The CAG also pointed out that non-installation of communication
equipment in transformer meters led to idle expenditure of Rs 4.31
crore.
In another case, delays in repair work at the Subarnarekha Hydel
Project resulted in a generation loss of 85 million units of
electricity valued at Rs 8.46 crore.