CAG report flags Rs 19.15 crore 'unfruitful' expenditure in road construction

Ranchi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Road Construction Department in Jharkhand incurred an "unfruitful" expenditure of Rs 19.15 crore on land acquisition due to lack of coordination among officials, a CAG report tabled in the Jharkhand Assembly said on Monday.

It said the expenditure occurred due to lack of coordination between the executive engineer (EE), Road Construction Department (RCD) officials, Giridih, and the district land acquisition officer (DLAO).

"Inability of the department to provide additional funds to the district land acquisition officer for acquisition of land for widening of road, and lack of coordination between the EE and the district land acquisition Officer ... resulted in unfruitful expenditure of Rs 19.15 crore," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report.

The report pertains to the widening and strengthening of an 18.85 km stretch of the Kodembri-Mandro-Asko Road in Giridih district, a project sanctioned in 2011 at an estimated cost of Rs 29.94 crore, for which administrative approval was accorded in 2012, to complete the project by 2012–13.

The project required acquisition of 86.16 acres of land in 20 villages.

According to the CAG, scrutiny of records conducted in September 2021 and March 2023 revealed that the EE, RCD, Giridih had requested the Deputy Commissioner, Giridih between March 2012 and March 2013 for the acquisition of the identified land.

In response, the DLAO demanded Rs 19.15 crore for the purpose, which was subsequently transferred by the EE during the same period.

However, despite the fund transfer, delays in coordination and failure to complete the acquisition process within the stipulated timeline led to escalation in project costs.

A revised estimate of Rs 51.12 crore, incorporating the Rs 19.15 crore land acquisition cost and updated as per the July 2016 schedule of rates, was only technically sanctioned in December 2016.

The CAG observed that the lack of timely and effective coordination between the concerned authorities rendered the expenditure of Rs 19.15 crore "unfruitful", as the land acquisition was not completed within the original project timeline.

It said the matter was reported to the department in November 2023 and their reply was awaited. PTI CORR NAM RG