Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report on Water Resources Department was tabled in the Assembly on Friday. Below are the details of the CAG’s report on WR Department:
Execution of Construction Projects by Odisha Construction Corporation Limited
Odisha Construction Corporation Limited (OCCL) had neither prepared any three-year Corporate Plan nor Annual Plans for submission to the DoWR. In the absence of such plans, there was a high risk that the Company did not have a clear cut, well documented strategy in place to achieve its aims and objectives vis-àvis the mandate assigned to it when it was set up by the administrative department.
During the last five years i.e., from 2016-21, OCCL did not achieve turnover targets in three years, i.e., 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21. The actual turnover decreased by 6 52 per cent, from ₹874 crore in 2016-17 to ₹422 crore in 2020-21.
Cost estimates of the projects were not prepared as per the Schedule of Rates. Due to inflated cost of dredger and pipelines in the estimates, undue benefit of ₹ 7.72 crore was extended to the contractor in case of the project, “Removal of Shoal in the upstream side of Mahanadi Barrage”.
The company incurred avoidable expenditure of ₹ 4.74 crore due to adoption of excess hire charges of machinery for compaction of earth in six test-checked projects.
Undue benefit of ₹ 5.61 crore was extended to job workers in two projects due to payment of inadmissible conveyance charges on stones issued from the worksite itself.
Advances of ₹ 3.66 crore, relating to 138 works, remained outstanding against suppliers for more than 12 months. Further, advances of ₹ 1.10 crore pertained to seven defunct works, where chances of recovery were remote.
Advances amounting to ₹ 3.53 crore against 446 staff/ officers (both on deputation and own staff) were lying outstanding as of March 2021. Of this, a sum of ₹ 3.34 crore was outstanding against 333 staff/ officers who had expired, left service, retired etc.
