CAG Lists Lack Of Co-Ordination, Carelessness Key Reasons Behind Delhi's Sorry State

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report card of Delhi that was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on April 3 in the State Assembly is not a positive note. The revenue receipt of the Aam Aadmi Party-led government fell by Rs 653.11 crore in the financial year 2016-17 as compared to the previous financial year due to a decrease in non-tax revenue and a shortfall of Rs 1,433.13 crore in grants from the Centre. That is only the start. In the words of Sisodia, the CAG has identified several “rigidities” in the system, the key highlight of the report.

Roads stuck due to lack of coordination among agencies

From 77.85 lakh in 2012-13 to 1.03 crore in 2016-17, the number of vehicles plying on Delhi roads has increased substantially. However, municipal bodies in the national capital did not build any new road projects during that period despite all the hullaballoo around “decongesting Delhi”. The CAG reports noted lack of coordination among multiple agencies responsible for planning and developing roads in the national capital is the key reason behind that. There is also no effective mechanism for citizens to report their grievances regarding specific roads to the agencies concerned, the CAG says.

"Multiple agencies were responsible for Delhi road network. The urban development department did not establish any mechanism to coordinate the efforts of these agencies to prepare a perspective plan, lack of which hindered the effective planning and coordination in developing Delhi road network in a phased manner to cope up with ever-increasing population of vehicles in the city," it stated.

This lack of coordination has also resulted in cost overruns. According to the CAG report, the estimated cost of the Rani Jhansi Flyover, which is expected to ease traffic along the Inter-State Bus Terminus, has increased from over Rs 177 crore to over Rs 724 crore.

Sewer work delayed by 10 years

While Rs 10.85 crore has been spent by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on laying sewer pipes, there has been a delay of 10 years in completing the task. Lack of due diligence and non-adherence of timelines by the DJB led to inordinate delay in laying sewer pipes, says the report. The sewer laying work was to be completed by September 2007; It was still “work in progress” as of June 2017.

Not one toilet built in Delhi under the Swachh Bharat Mission

The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched in the national capital with a great deal of fanfare in October 2014. The money the national capital received to make itself open-defecation free, however, is lying idle. According to the CAG, not one toilet has been built in Delhi since the inception until March 2017 while it received Rs 40.31 crore under the mission.

The beneficiaries of unauthorised colonies were also not considered for construction of household toilets under the mission, says the report. "Most of the habitats known for lack of toilet facilities were excluded from the mission at the planning stage itself," it points out.

While cutting generously, Delhi is not planning enough trees

Between April 2014 and March 2017, over 13,000 trees – 13, 018, to be specific – were cut in the national capital for various purposes. This made it obligatory on the state forest depart to plant 65,095 trees in compensation—According to Section 10 of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, for felling of one tree, five saplings must be planted. Only 33 per cent of this target has been met, and the shortfall stands at 67 per cent, says the CAG report.

All the noise going around the city trying to become green in the wake of rising pollution levels is also falling on deaf ears. The report points out that the national capital does not have its own forest policy, a roadmap or a perspective plan indicating strategy to improve forest cover.

"The tree authority constituted under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, met only once during 2014-17 against mandated 12 meetings. In violation of permit conditions, lops and tops arising out of pruning/felling of trees were not supplied free of cost to the public crematoria," the report said.

Inadequate planning by tourism dept causing major losses

The CAG has come down heavily on the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) for "lack of inadequate diligence and planning", while citing specific cases. According to the CAG report, the construction work at Mayur Vihar's Dilli Haat incurred "infructuous" expenditure to the tune of Rs 39.66 lakh owing to lack of planning.

"Without waiting for permission for change of land use, the DTTDC appointed three consultants for structural design, proof checking of structural design and architectural consultancy in June, August and September 2013, respectively," the report said. The DTTDC should not have financially committed itself by appointing the consultants without prior permission from the DDA, it said.

According to the CAG, inadequate due diligence and planning on the part of DTTDC resulted in avoidable delay of 12 years in developing 5.22 acres of land at Saidu-ul-Ajab village for stated use and wasteful expenditure of Rs 23.19 lakh.

With inputs from Housing News