MPs' fund remains unutilised: CAG

patna: the comptroller and auditor-general (cag) has detected glaring instances of irregular expenditure to the tune of several lakh rupees in the mps’ local area development scheme (mplads) in bihar and other states. cag, in its recent audit report, said that audit findings had revealed that since the creation of the fund in 1993 till the financial year ended 2001, a significant part of the released money to mps ‘‘was not utilised’’.‘‘the work that were carried out in a large number of cases did not qualify for definition of durable assets and there were instances of irregularities like excess expenditure, excess payment, overpayment to contractors, wasteful expenditure, miscellaneous irregularities in purchase, abandonment of works, execution of petty works, irregular payment of supervision and percentage charge, frauds and misappropriation,’’ the cag report said. in bihar alone, the cag report detected irregularities like completion of works lower than estimated cost, clubbing of fund with the fund of other schemes in patna and muzaffarpur, sanction of works for commercial and private organisations in patna, execution of works without recommendations of mp in patna, irregular award of contract in muzaffarpur, nalanda and patna, misappropriation of funds in patna and mishandling of funds again in patna. commenting on the poor administration of schemes, involving wastage, idling funds, irregular and inadmissible expenditure and frauds highlighted in the current and 1998 audit reports, the cag report said since the inception of the scheme in december 1993, rs 5,017.80 crore was released against which rs 3,221.21 crore had been spent, utilising only 64.2 per cent. from 1997-98 to 1999-2000, the centre released 84.43 per cent (rs 2,668 crore) of the budget provision of rs 3,160 crore. from its inception till the end of march 2000, 35.8 per cent of the total release by the union government, amounting to rs 1,796.59 crore, remained unspent with the district collectors and the implementing agencies involving 20,874 incomplete works out of a total of 41,955 schemes. during 1993-2000, against the release of over rs 462.10 crore for bihar, about rs 305.41 crore had been utilised in the state. in seven states, including bihar, the respective district administrations allowed expenditure to the tune of over rs 148.54 crore on works pertaining to places of religious worship such as development work on ram krishna mission, construction of fishery tanks with masjid, boundary walls of temples, sarai/guest houses in temples etc. violating the guidelines.