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CAG picks holes in tsunami relief
Its report shows that out of Rs 1,759 cr given by Govt, Rs 228 cr were diverted elsewhere, reports Aloke Tikku.
Andhra Pradesh diverted Rs 2 crore collected for tsunami relief from the public and NGOs to earthquake victims in Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala used nearly Rs 11.5 crore allocated for relief and rehabilitation to meet its committed liabilities.
Similarly, Pondicherry spent nearly Rs 20 crore on infrastructure in areas away from the coastline and Tamil Nadu spent Rs 2.58 crore on building temporary shelters in low-lying areas.
A special audit of India's tsunami relief has revealed that 13 per cent of central funds released to rebuild lives of lakhs of people wrecked by the tsunami along the eastern coastline two years ago were "either mis-utilised or diverted" elsewhere.
The amount was pegged at Rs 228 crore out of the Rs 1,759 crore released by the Centre. It included diversion of at least Rs 44.88 crore, money that should have been spent on rehabilitation of tsunami victims.
The Comptroller and Auditor General's report has picked holes in claims of the central and state governments. After two years of "mutual admiration", the report tabled in Parliament on Friday presented the other side of the story.
The state governments had inflated projections of funds needed for relief and rehabilitation, but never got around to spending the money.
In March, the amount of centrally-sponsored funds spent by Andaman and Nicobar Islands for tsunami relief stood at 61 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 56 per cent and Tamil Nadu 27 per cent. Kerala was the only state to have utilised the money it received, along with Pondicherry, the report said.
The CAG also indicted Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry for "improper identification of beneficiaries" leading to irregularities. Several departments in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands surrendered nearly 40 per cent of the funds allocated to execute projects, assist artisans and fishermen. The performance audit also went on to describe the institutional mechanism for disaster management as "inadequate".
It said the experience gained from natural disasters earlier did not improve regulation and implementation of environmental laws such as enforcement of Coastal Zone Regulation. “This would have prevented destruction of coastal areas which, in turn, would have mitigated the adverse impact of new natural disasters affecting the coastline," the report said.
It also asked the Home Ministry to make the mechanism of damage assessment and financial assistance transparent by notifying the general criteria of assessment.
Email Aloke Tikku: atikku@hindustantimes.com
