Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that due to some wrongful decision of the Works department, contractors in eight projects got undue benefits to the tune of `33.02 crore.
In a draft report to the Works department, the Accountant General (AG) Odisha has said, “Adoption of longer lead distances for transportation of stone products from quarries to work sites inflated the estimates. Sanction of inflated estimates without verification and award of works based on inflated estimates led to undue benefit of `33.02 crore to contractors.”
The Odisha Public Works Department (OPWD) Code stipulates that estimates should be prepared in most economical manner and the divisional officer concerned is to certify that he has personally visited the spot and prepared the estimate using Schedule of Rates (SoR) and providing for the most economical and sale way of executing the work.
Further, there is provision that the projects submitted for sanction should be accompanied by quarry charts showing the quarries from which quantities of road metal proposed to be obtained.
However, the auditor found that eight projects have been sanctioned with allotting quarries located at longer distances for transportation of stone products though such stone products are available at a shorter distance from the work sites.
As per the AG report, the chief engineer (design, planning, investigation and roads) has sanctioned eight road projects worth `396 crore in four roads and buildings divisions.
The contracts were awarded for `375.70 crore in between August 2012 and November 2016 for completion between February 2015 and May 2017.
Estimates of the above work provided for transportation of 10.02 lakh cubic metres of stone products from various quarries to various work sites at distances ranging from 59 to 118 km even though certified quarries are available at a distance ranging from 7 to 51 km.
The reasons for providing longer lead distances were not on record, the auditor said.
The divisional officers, who provided excess lead ranging between 19 and 83 km for the above eight road projects, don’t have justifiable reasons.
“For transportation of 10.02 lakh CuM of stone products, estimated cost of the projects were inflated by `33.70 crore including overhead charges/contractors’ profit and cess,” the CAG said.
The CAG has asked the Works department to submit its reply within four weeks.
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