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Our Bureau

Mumbai, Dec. 31 The Maharashtra Government is literally paying through the nose for the icon Bandra-Worli sea link. According to the just published report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Commercial) the change in the bridge design favouring cable-stayed technology for a crucial section has caused an additional expenditure Rs 70 crore.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd (MSRDC) is the principal developer of the sea link.

The CAG office, which audited the accounts of MSRDC has said that the company accepted the changes in the technical design of the bridge in August 2004 from arch bridge to cable stayed on the grounds of ‘aesthetics’, which lacked justification.

Especially in view of the fact that the project is self earning and the design change will have impact on the time and cost of the project.

The report has also pointed that the main contractor Hindustan Construction Company was slow in the work for no apparent reason. MSRDC has not any levied any liquidated damages on HCC for non-achievement of project milestones. Instead it kept on revising the project millstones.

The CAG report on local self-government bodies in Maharashtra for year ending March 2006, has said that property tax receipts of municipal corporations were less than 10 per cent of total receipts, indicating ineffective tax collection mechanism, properties remaining unassessed and irrational computation of rateable values.

As of March 2005, property tax of Rs 169.40 crore remained unrecovered.

The report pointed that the corporations had not adopted the revised accounts formats prescribed by CAG and as envisaged in the 74th Constitutional Amendment.

There were instances of diversion of funds, non-reconciliation of cash book balances with bank pass books, unutilised grants and unclaimed deposits. Indicating that the internal control mechanisms in the municipal corporations was weak.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Maharashtra

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