STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Tuesday slammed the Jammu and Kashmir Government for a prolonged delay in completion of 267 developmental projects in the State.
“As on 31st March, 2014 there were 267 projects and works costing rupees one crore and above have overshot their scheduled completion dates,” said a CAG report on state finance for the year ending 31st March, 2014.
“These incomplete projects had a total sanctioned cost of Rs 1458.25 crore revised to Rs 1497.07 crore,” the report said, adding that an amount of Rs 832.44 crore has already been spent on these incomplete projects by 31st March, 2014.
The report is relevant to the period when Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress Government was in power.
The CAG report further said that blocking of funds in incomplete projects impinged “negatively” on the expenditure, depriving the State of intended benefits from these projects for prolonged periods.
The report reveals that as many as 194 incomplete projects with a sanctioned cost of Rs 651.92 crore and revised cost of Rs 661.27 crore belonged to Public Works Department (PWD) which spent Rs 487.36 crore on these incomplete projects. Similarly, 71 projects of Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department with a sanctioned cost of Rs 782.33 crore and revised cost of Rs 809.20 crore were delayed even after spending Rs 324.87 crore on them, it said.
The report also said there was delay in two projects of Power Development Department (PDD) with a revised cost of Rs 26.60 crore, of which Rs 20.21 crore have already been spent.
The CAG has recommended the State Government to analyse reasons for the delay in completion of projects and take adequate steps for their completion to achieve the intended benefits.
Blaming the government for a persistent fall in developmental capital expenditure, CAG in its report said that developmental capital expenditure registered a persistent decreasing trend from 2009-10 to 2013-14 indicating that the development works were getting inadequate resources.
The share percentage of developmental capital expenditure to the total expenditure fell from 27.7 per cent in 2009-10 to 22.8 per cent in 2010-11, 19.2 per cent in 2011-12 and 15.1 per cent in 2012-13 to 12.18 per cent in 2013-14. (PTI)
