The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its latest compliance audit, found that Himachal Pradesh’s 14 prisons are overcrowded and face a severe shortage of manpower.
According to the CAG report, tabled in the assembly by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on the last day of the monsoon session, against a sanctioned capacity of 2,560, the actual inmate population stood at 2,921 in 2023–24, an excess of 14%.
The state government also acknowledged the fact on August 24 last month, when it placed the data on the 14 prisons showing they were operating nearly 30% above the sanctioned capacity, with 3,355 inmates lodged against a combined capacity of 2,580.
The audit of the department of prisons and correctional services found that only 466 guarding staff were working against a normative requirement of 1,281 under the Model Prison Manual as of April 2024.
Thus, only around 36% of the required guarding staff was in place.
The audit also noted that posts of teachers and social workers were completely vacant, affecting inmate welfare, rehabilitation and security.
The CAG report also pointed out that the state had neither a separate women’s jail nor reception centres, despite a consistent female inmate population (100–118). Healthcare services were inadequate, and 40% of referred cases — 6,731 out of 16,723 —were not sent to hospitals due to shortages of police escorts. Two major jails, Kanda and Dharamshala, lacked operational hospital beds, while medical and diagnostic equipment remained idle because trained operators were not available.
The CAG also flagged poor utilisation of funds meant for prisoner welfare. Of ₹1.62 crore available with the Himkaara Unnayan Samiti, only ₹31.89 lakh was spent between 2021 and 2024. The Prisoners’ Welfare Fund had accumulated ₹1.42 crore, but saw minimal utilisation.
{{/usCountry}}The CAG also flagged poor utilisation of funds meant for prisoner welfare. Of ₹1.62 crore available with the Himkaara Unnayan Samiti, only ₹31.89 lakh was spent between 2021 and 2024. The Prisoners’ Welfare Fund had accumulated ₹1.42 crore, but saw minimal utilisation.
{{/usCountry}}The report suggested that the state government adopt and implement the provisions of the Centre’s Model Prison Manual 2016, including those relating to the constitution of the state advisory board and prisons development board, and address the issue of staff shortage on priority.
Substandard, expired medicines in vet institutions
The CAG also raised concerns over the quality and management of medicines in the animal husbandry department.
Of 1,906 medicine purchases examined by the audit, 885 purchases involving medicines worth ₹3.08 crore were accepted without mandatory quality-test reports.
Ten medicine samples failed quality checks, and 78% of the substandard medicines were subsequently distributed and consumed across the state.
The audit also found that expired medicines were administered to animals at 70 veterinary institutions.
Equipment worth ₹91 lakh remained idle due to inadequate planning, infrastructure or a lack of trained personnel. Of 68 veterinary infrastructure projects sanctioned between 2021 and 2024, only nine had been completed.
Against an allocation of ₹1,562.78 crore during 2021-24, the department spent ₹1,493.92 crore, leaving ₹68.86 crore unutilised.
The audit also noted that expenditure on medicines and equipment declined from 3.11% to 1.44% of the department’s total expenditure.
The CAG suggested that the state government standardise procurement by making written indents from field units mandatory and operationalising an online inventory management system to track stock levels, expiry, and distribution of medicines and equipment.
MGNREGS implementation under lens
The CAG audit of the rural development department also flagged delays and procedural irregularities in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
More than 36% of job cards in the test-checked gram panchayats were issued with abnormal delays, in some cases stretching up to 6,682 days. The audit attributed the delays, among other factors, to a 14% shortage of Gram Rozgar Sahayaks.
The report found that 3.41 lakh wage transactions involving ₹77.47 crore were delayed, including 5,523 transactions that remained pending for more than 90 days.
The state also incurred ₹15.75 crore on works under the ‘Panchavati Yojna’ at 180 sites without mandatory approval from the Centre, according to the audit.
Materials worth ₹108.99 crore were procured piecemeal instead of through centralised procurement, while ₹4.41 crore was spent on park works not approved under the scheme.