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| Tourism Department has made idle investment: CAG | | | Kunal Shrivatsa
JAMMU, Mar 10: Raising a big question mark over the 'functioning' of Tourism Department, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its Report on Social, General, Economic (Non-PSUs)) sectors for the year ended March 31, 2013 observed that the Department made idle investment and unfruitful expenditure while executing different projects.
"A project for restoration and conservation of Samba Fort was sanctioned in 2011-12 under State Plan at a cost of Rs 4.94 crore on the basis of DPR approved by the state Government. The project aimed at making the fort a source of attraction for tourists and for promotion of heritage tourism in Jammu province," pointed the CAG.
"After incurring an expenditure of Rs 75 lakh during the year 2011-12 on part works the execution of the project was stopped for wan of further funds. Thus, taking up of the project without availability of adequate funds had resulted in unfruitful expenditure of Rs 75 lakh as the fort had neither been completely restored/renovated nor put to adaptive re-use," it added.
While replying to CAG's observation, the Deputy Director (M&W) stated that the work for restoration and conservation of Samba Fort was stopped as the funds for balance work were not provided by the State Government.
In yet another instance of Departmental carelessness, the Directorate of Tourism, Jammu purchased adventure equipment like white water rafts, kayaks, mountaineering equipment etc. for Rs 36 lakh during the period 2007-09. Audit check showed that only rafting equipment had been rented out to two private firms on few occasions and rest of the mountaineering equipment had never been used for promotion of adventure activities in the Jammu region, though some of the mountaineering equipment was issued to Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports, Pahalgam in September 2011.
"This indicated that the department purchased adventure equipment without formulating plans for their utilization and promotion of adventure activities," observed the CAG.
CAG further said similarly, the Director Tourism, Kashmir also purchased adventure equipment valuing Rs 30 lakh in November 2006 under the project 'Development of Leh' which were never dispatched to Leh due to non-availability of equipment stores at Leh and were lying in the stores at Srinagar in April 2013.
Further exposing the slackness of the Tourism Department, the CAG pointed out that wasteful expenditure to the tune of Rs 24 lakh was incurred by the Surinsar-Mansar Development Authority.
"The Surinsar-Mansar Development Authority purchased and installed video games from M/s HG Electronics, Ahmedabad at a cost of Rs 24 lakh in the Cafeteria Building, Mansar in January 2010," the CAG said.
"Despite lapse of three years after installation, the games had not been operationalized for the public purpose due to non-availability of trained manpower and were lying unutilized in the office complex in February 2013," it added.
The CAG further revealed that the efforts to outsource the games in February 2013 did not materialize as the contractor on physical inspection declared the games non-operational which required repairs. As the warranty period of the games had already elapsed the chances of getting them repaired were remote.
Thus procurement of games without proper plans for their operationalization and maintenance resulted in wasteful expenditure of Rs 24 lakh.
The Chief Executive Officer Mansar-Surinsar Development Authority stated that the warranty of the games had lapsed and that the matter would be taken up with the supplier to get them repaired with the approval of the competent authority. |
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