Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Monday flagged significant financial and administrative lapses in Odisha’s tourism and transport sectors, including a Rs 207.68-crore loss incurred in organising seven eco-retreats, the parking of Rs 898.48 crore in bank accounts by executing agencies and ineffective recovery of transport tax arrears.
The findings are part of the CAG’s report on subject-specific compliance audits of “Development of Tourism in Coastal Zone in Odisha” and “Functioning of State Transport Authority and Regional Transport Offices in Odisha” for the year ended March 31, 2024. The audit covered the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
The report, prepared under Article 151 of the Constitution and the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, contains two chapters dealing with the tourism and transport sectors.
The CAG observed that the Department of Tourism (DoT) surrendered Rs 103.35 crore due to the non-utilisation of funds against a budget allocation of Rs 2,278.04 crore.
It also found that Rs 898.48 crore meant for tourism projects had been parked in the bank accounts of nine executing agencies due to reasons including non-clearance from statutory authorities, lack of administrative approval and non-availability of land. Of this, Rs 806.44 crore, or nearly 90%, remained parked in the accounts of the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) and STDC for five years.
The audit also pointed to poor financial returns from tourism activities. OTDC failed to realise Rs 10.72 crore from government departments and another Rs 72 lakh from private parties for services such as transport, accommodation and lodging.
The department also incurred a loss of Rs 207.68 crore in organising seven eco-retreats between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the CAG said.
Beach tourism initiatives also faced implementation hurdles. The DoT and OTDC failed to operationalise beach shacks, resulting in the blockage of Rs 1.25 crore and a loss of potential revenue estimated at Rs 45.50 lakh every year.
The CAG found that several projects taken up under centrally sponsored schemes remained incomplete despite substantial expenditure.
Under the PRASAD scheme, Rs 6.49 crore was spent on infrastructure development covering Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham-Ramchandi-Prachi River at Deuli-Dhauli, but the project remained incomplete.
Similarly, the objectives of the Swadesh Darshan scheme remained unfulfilled despite expenditure of Rs 41.60 crore at Barkul, Satpada, Tampara and Gopalpur.
The Bindusagar Lake development project, intended to attract more tourists, remained incomplete even after more than nine years and expenditure of Rs 8.16 crore.
The Shamuka special tourism area project in Puri district also remained incomplete, rendering expenditure of Rs 11.92 crore unfruitful.
The objective of developing three Blue Flag beaches at Niladri, Muhan and Pir Jahania in Puri remained unachieved despite expenditure of Rs 3.78 crore during 2020-25.
The audit also detected the construction of permanent or semi-permanent structures in sanctuary, national park and PRF areas in violation of government instructions and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
Projects cited by the CAG included the beachfront promenade at Ramchandi, widening of the approach road from Puri-Konark Marine Drive and a Panthasala at Talasari. The expenditure on these works totalled Rs 28.84 crore.
The CAG further found that 20 Panthanivas were functioning without mandatory fire safety certificates, despite statutory requirements for hotels, lodgings and guest houses to comply with fire-prevention and safety measures.
Tourist inflow also remained concentrated in a few coastal districts. Puri and Khordha together accounted for 48% of the state’s tourist inflow during 2019-24, largely due to attractions such as the Shree Jagannath Temple, Rath Yatra and Puri’s beaches. The audit recommended greater focus on developing tourism projects in other coastal districts to tap their cultural, ecological and heritage potential.
The CAG audit of the State Transport Authority (STA) and Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) also revealed several deficiencies in regulation, tax collection, vehicle safety and enforcement.
The absence of an effective regulatory mechanism for aggregator services and a prescribed base fare allowed aggregators to operate without licences and fix fares at their convenience, the report said.
The audit also found non-uniformity in the levy and collection of one-time tax on vehicle sales due to the non-fixation of the base price on which the tax was to be calculated.
The department accepted motor vehicle tax without ensuring valid Fitness Certificates in the VAHAN system. As a result, inspection fees of Rs 73.18 lakh from 9,760 vehicles could not be realised.
The CAG raised concerns over passenger safety, observing that public service vehicles were registered without ensuring the mandatory installation of vehicle location tracking devices and emergency buttons.
The department also failed to ensure High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) on 17.61 lakh vehicles registered before March 2019. In addition, 1.52 lakh vehicles were registered without HSRPs up to March 31, 2024.
The absence of an automated process and deficiencies in the GIS-based Planning and Permit Management System and Odisha Public Transport and Integrated Commuter System resulted in manual intervention in the issuance of vehicle permits.
The audit also detected substantial revenue implications in the issuance of stage carriage permits. In 75 cases, tax amounting to Rs 30.23 lakh was either not levied or short-levied, with a maximum penalty of Rs 60.45 lakh also leviable.
In another 30 cases, ordinary permits were issued instead of express permits, resulting in a loss of tax and additional tax amounting to Rs 14.59 lakh.
The department’s tax recovery mechanism was also found to be ineffective. Against a target of Rs 530 crore, only Rs 9.71 crore, or 1.83%, of arrears had been recovered as of August 2024.
A major concern was the large number of pending e-Challans. As many as 39.55 lakh challans involving Rs 1,136.62 crore were pending with RTOs, courts or police authorities. This meant vehicles continued to ply without payment of applicable taxes and penalties.
The CAG further observed that enforcement officials often booked only one or two offences even when multiple motor vehicle violations had been committed. This resulted in the non-imposition of fines estimated at Rs 640.87 crore.
The audit also highlighted concerns over road safety. The Road Safety Policy, 2015, had set a target of reducing road accidents by 50% and fatalities by 20% by 2020, taking 2015 as the base year.
However, the CAG found an increasing trend in road accidents, injuries and fatalities during 2019-23, except in 2020.
