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| CAG unearths gross fiscal indiscipline within SPCB | | | Kunal Shrivatsa
JAMMU, Mar 11: The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has received flak from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its latest report wherein it was observed that the Board was plagued by lack of proper planning and poor utilization of funds.
The CAG noticed that Board had neither prepared comprehensive plan nor had made Annual action Plan since its inception in 1976 to serve as a guide to execute pollution control programmes.
"The Board's activities were largely restricted to granting/renewal of consent for operating industrial units. Even this activity was not carried out fully and properly as explained subsequently," said CAG Report.
Censuring the Board for poor utilization of funds, the CAG Report pointed out that the unspent balances witnessed a steep rise from Rs 7.08 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 17.77 crore in 2012-13.
"The poor utilization of funds by the Board resulted in steady increase in the quantum of unspent balances which accumulated to Rs 17.77 crore as of March 2013. The unutilized amount was lying in five bank accounts of the Board," observed the CAG.
The CAG Report further said that in December 2010 the State Government directed the Board to deposit the unspent balance of consent money in excess of Rs 2 crore lying in its non-interest bank accounts into Government accounts in the Treasury.
It was also directed that in future also the Board should not retain any amount on this account in excess of Rs 2 crore. The board had thereafter used drawals from Treasury as budgeted by the Government while it continued to retain unspent balances of funds raised by it.
Indicating towards imprudent financial management of the Board, the CAG observed that the Board had utilized consent fee ranging between Rs 26.10 lakh and Rs 91.77 lakh unauthorizedly towards meeting the administrative expenses like travelling allowance, petrol purchase of vehicle, furniture and payment of wages during the years from 2009-10 to 2012-13 despite the fact that non-plan funds allotted by the State Government ranging between Rs 12.94 lakh and Rs 3.73 crore were surrendered by the Board during the same period.
Exposing more unprofessional conducts of the Board, the CAG Report observed that the consent money received by the Board had been parked in Current Accounts of two branches of Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited. The average balances of consent money at the close of each year ranged between Rs 1.20 crore and Rs 12.73 crore during these years. The non-investment of surplus consent money in fixed bank deposits by the Board resulted in loss of interest of Rs 1.91 crore during the period 2008-13.
The Report further stated that the Board failed to maintain its accounts as the same were finalized only upto the year 2006-07 and thereafter the finalization of accounts was in arrears till May 2013.
The reasons for non-finalization of accounts were called for but not intimated by the Board in August 2013.
Revealing Board's shortcomings further, the CAG Report said that the validity of consent to operate had expired in respect of 407 industrial units between March 2001 and February 2013 and these were running without renewal consent in violation of provisions of the Water (Protection and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The CAG Report said, "No register to watch the fulfillment of consent conditions had been maintained either in the Regional offices or by the Member Secretary of the Board." |
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