PATNA: Like the infamous fodder scam, motorcycles, auto rickshaws, and cars were purportedly used as modes of transport to carry sand from different ghats, says the report of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) for the year ending March 2021, which was tabled in the state legislature on Friday.
Talking to the media after presenting the reports to the heads of state legislature, auditor general (audit) Ramawatar Sharma said that 46,935 e-challans out of the 2,43,811 issued in 14 districts were generated for unrealistic vehicles, having registration numbers of ambulances, buses, auto rickshaws, cars, motorcycles etc.
“As many as 21,192 out of the 33,191 e-challans verified by the audit in 16 works divisions, were found to be fake and had been used in different construction works. The fake challans account for about 63.35% of the total e-challans,” said Sharma, adding that in 15,723 cases in 11 district mining officers (DMOs), 11 to 861 e-challans were generated for one vehicle, in one day, to carry sand.
In four districts, the concerned lessees generated e-challans more than 10 times to 142 times a day, for a particular vehicle, while dispatching stones, during year 2018-2020. Moreover, it was found that 12 ghats were mined for sand in three districts without obtaining environmental clearance (EC), said the report.
Eight DMOs had extended the lease for sand mining till December 2021 without realizing the security deposit leading to loss of about ₹ 94.97 crore. The state also suffered revenue loss of ₹9,741 crore on account of non-realisation of stamp duty and registration in eight districts the lessees for the period of 2015-19, which was extended till September 2021.
The audit report further state that the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) were unable to levy and collect taxes for want of the Bihar Panchayat (gram panchayat, audit, budget and taxation) Rules despite recommendation of the state finance commissions and relevant provisions in the BPRA, 2006.
The PRIs in the state did not have adequate staff to discharge the devolved functions. At GP level, 4,751 posts (56% of the sanctioned strength) of the panchayat secretary were vacant, whereas 455 posts of block panchayati raj officer (BPRO) (64% of the total sanctioned strength) were vacant at the block level.
As of November 2019, utilisation certificates (UCs) of only ₹13,695.45 crore (46.71%) were submitted by the PRIs against total grants of ₹29,319.83 crore, released during the period up to 2017-18.
Similarly, UCs of ₹5,443.55 crore out of total ₹10,508.78 crore grant released by the urban development and housing department (UDHD) during the period 2015-16 to 2018-19 (up to November 2018) are pending for adjustment.