Internal auditor slams civic body

The civic body, which has faced severe flak from the public and political parties for the sorry state of the city's roads, has now been criticised by its internal auditor.

The civic body, which has faced severe flak from the public and political parties for the sorry state of the city's roads, has now been criticised by its internal auditor.

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In a damning report, the department of the municipal chief auditor (MCA) has accused civic officials of being negligent and conniving with road contractors.

In its latest audit note, the MCA has also pointed out irregularities in the way contractors have been constructing the roads.

The MCA department staff is employed by the BMC, but it reports to the standing committee, not the municipal commissioner.

The note, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times, was submitted last month by MCA PC Pisolkar.

Listing the different methods contractors employ to cheat the BMC, the note has asked the administration to put in place more stringent rules for supervision of work before it makes payments to contractors. Currently, lack of supervision is the biggest factor affecting the quality of the city's roads, it says.

The process of verification before payments are released is flawed, according to the report. Payments are made on the basis of notes made by the site engineer in the measurement book. However, these notes are neither detailed nor scientifically recorded.

Additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta was unavailable for comment, while Pisolkar refused to comment on the audit note.