Odisha govt lost Rs 4713 revenue in 2013-14, says CAG

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Mar 31:

Two reports of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) -one each on revenu and general & social sector – presented in the State Assembly today have revealed that the Odisha government has incurred a revenue loss to the tune of Rs 4713 crore during 2013-14 fiscal due to faulty financial policies and a lax revenue collection regime.

The report has said that the state government has sustained huge losses due to poor collection of sales tax, motor vehicle tax, excise duty, stamp duty, VAT, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other non-tax receipts.

The report has also stated that out of a total revenue loss of Rs 4713 crore, the state government has admitted irregularities in the loss of Rs 2379 crore.

“The state government has failed to collect crores of rupees from the traders towards Value Added Tax (VAT). It has also failed to collect Rs 33 crore from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) towards excess mining of coal. Besides, it has also lost Rs 8 crore on chrome ore royalty during the period,” the report pointed out.

In its report on general and social sector of the state,  the CAG has found irregularities in the implementation of 10 Centrally and state sponsored schemes.

Besides rasing questions on proper implementation of schemes relating to the welfare and protection of girl child in the state, the report has also said that there has been no proper supervision and verification of the ongoing MPLAD schemes. “The state government did not appoint a third party for on-the-spot supervision of the quality of work of the MPLAD projects from 2010 to 2013,” the report said.

Referring to the pipe water supply project in Puri, the CAG has said due to lack of inter-departmental coordination for this project, Rs 158 crore has gone down the drains.

Expressing displeasure over the modus operandi of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), the report said that the BDA had approved construction of buildings in an area of 6,70,532 sq ft area without examining the quality of the land as well as the locations.

The report said the Transport department had not conducted the fitness test of 164 school buses and 10,541 auto-rickshaws during 2013-14 to ensure the safety of the school children as well as the passengers.

Apart from this, the department had also allowed plying of 1,20,939 buses without verifying their vehicle pollution certificates, the report added.

The CAG, in its report, has also expressed grave concern over 11,552 children of the state including 8246 girls, who have gone on missing from 2009-13.