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CAG pulls up Delhi government for all-round mismanagement

The Delhi government has come under fire from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for wasteful expenditure, inefficient utilisation of funds and slippages in performance on several fronts.

Notably, these include utilities like the Delhi Vidyut Board, the Delhi Transport Corporation and Delhi Fire Service, whose performance does not appear to have improved under the Delhi government.

The CAG report was tabled before the House on Friday.

In its report for the financial year ending March 31, 1997, the CAG noted that there was a deficit of Rs 6.03 billion on capital account and a revenue surplus of Rs 7.64 billion during the year. While the total receipt on capital account was Rs 8.81 billion, the expenditure was Rs 14.84 billion. On the revenue front, the receipts totalled Rs 27.96 billion and expenditure was Rs 20.32 billion.

It noted that provision of Rs 1.2 billion crore in 280 sub-heads remained wholly unutilised due to non-implementation of schemes. Overall, savings of Rs 3.14 billion were 47 per cent of the total supplementary grants (Rs 6.70 billion). The total authorised grant of the Delhi government was Rs 44.32 billlion while the expenditure amounted to Rs 41.18 billion.

Criticising the Delhi Fire Service, the CAG said that it was ''ill-equipped'' to protect and safeguard lives and property of the people against fire and emergency. No new fire station was commissioned after the DFS came under the control of Delhi government in November 1994, it added.

As against a recommended response time of five minutes for urban areas and ten minutes for rural areas, the delays at times were up to 40 minutes in urban areas and 48 minutes in rural areas.

Describing fire prevention preparedness as ''inadequate'', the CAG said 58 per cent of the DFS vehicles were unusable. Only one water tender was available with each fire station against the recommendation of two water tenders.

Commenting upon the working of the Delhi police, the CAG said the department indulged in a ''highly irregular'' purchase of ''sub-standard'' lane dividers. All purchase procedures were violated and the quality of the rubber was neither specified nor even tested before finalising the purchase. The supplier was dealing in stationery items.

Delays in finalising departmental inquiries resulted in avoidable loss of manpower. A sum of Rs 15.4 million paid as subsistence allowance beyond four months could have been saved if the inquiries were completed within the stipulated period of four months.

As for the Delhi Vidyut Board, the CAG pointed out delays ranging from 12 to 24 months in procurement of power transformers as against a normal delivery period of three to nine months. Delays in commissioning of power transformers ranged between seven and 75 months. Twentythree transformers were still lying uncommissioned as on March 31, 1997.

''Sixtyfive to 70 per cent of the transformers in operation were over-loaded, resulting in tripping and failure of transformers. The departmental workshop was unable to repair all the failed transformers. This had resulted, on an average, in avoidable purchase of seven new transformers, valued at Rs 276 million every year.''

The CAG also noted that the failure rate of distribution transformers was as high as 24 per cent against a norm of four per cent. During 1994-97, 4424 transformers valued at Rs 1.25 billion had failed.

The Delhi Transport Corporation, which had introduced a voluntary retirement scheme, had made an excess payment of Rs 34.67 million in respect of ex-gratia and notice period pay to its employees opting for the scheme. Only a sum of Rs 11.24 million could be recovered from the employees till July 1997.

The Delhi Energy Development Agency incurred losses to the extent of Rs 41.4 million during 1992-97 in its battery bus service. The Polaroid division of DEDA purchased nine colour image systems at the cost of Rs 17.2 million during 1994-96 from a single supplier by flouting financial norms and without proper sanction.

Also, 23 solar water heating systems costing Rs 1.06 million were installed free of cost at the residences of ministers and senior government officials.

The central Tihar Jail Hospital bought medicines worth Rs 85.1 million, of which purchases amounting to Rs 8.3 million were unsanctioned. Lack of control led to avoidable excess expenditure of Rs 5.08 million, the CAG noted.

UNI

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