Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has pulled up the state government for violation of the Biju Setu Yojana (BSY) guidelines in the selection of sites for construction of bridges and for not meeting the deadline.
The state government launched Biju Setu Yojana in October 2011 to bridge the missing links on roads of the Rural Development (RD) department and strategically important Panchayat Samiti roads belonging to the Panchayati Raj (PR) department.
One of the norms of BSY requires that bridges should be constructed on such sites of the river or nallah where no other bridge exists within 10 km upstream or downstream of the proposed site and that the length of bridge should not be less than 25 metres.
However, the CAG in its audit report on the General and Social Sector for the year ending March 2014 noticed that the selection of sites for construction of 13 bridges were built in violation of the above guidelines.
“There was deviation from the guidelines in the selection of sites for construction of 13 bridges with an estimated cost of `20.62 crore, of which `10.58 crore were expended as of January 2015,” said the CAG report.
The audit further noticed that the construction of 12 bridges, which were earlier proposed under other schemes including three under PMGSY and not taken up for execution, were included without examining their eligibility under BSY guidelines.
Picking holes in the time taken for implementation of the projects under the scheme, the report noted, “Out of 600 bridges planned for construction during 2011-14, only 547 bridges were taken up and 156 were completed.”
“Inadequate feasibility study of the identified sites led to the closure of contract as well as delay in execution of works. Preparation of estimates was not accurate. Delay in invitation of tender, approval of tender and execution of agreement also contributed to delay in completion of works,” the CAG said, adding, “Delay in approval of tender by the Government after lapse of validity of tender in one case led to an avoidable expenditure of `3.04 crore.”
The CAG further slammed the state government, stating, “Monitoring and supervision was weak as State Quality Monitors were not appointed, rendering the second tier quality assurance mechanism defunct.”
Meanwhile, no officials of works or RD department could be accessed for their comments on the report.