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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found fault with the Telangana government for inordinate delays in constructing the two-bedroom houses and identifying the beneficiaries.
“The Compliance Audit revealed several shortcomings in the implementation of the 2BHK Housing Scheme (two-bedroom scheme) in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area. The financial management of the scheme had shortfalls,” the CAG said.
In a report submitted to the Assembly, the CAG also found diversion of funds to other schemes.
“There are no provisions for price escalation and infrastructure costs, leaving unexpected financial liability on GHMC to meet the extra expenditure over and above the unit cost. The State government had delayed the release of budget funds to the executing agencies,” it said.
The report was submitted to the State government in December 2022 and tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.
The CAG also found fault with the State government for losing the second instalment from the government of India due to non-adherence to the beneficiary selection process.
“Of the one lakh houses sanctioned in GHMC, construction of 48,178 (48 per cent) houses were completed and 45,735 houses were in progress and 6,087 houses were stopped or yet to be taken up,” it pointed out.
“Construction of houses by the end of six years (2020-21) was only 48,178 which was less than 50 per cent of the envisaged target of one lakh houses,” it said.
Over 96 per cent of the completed houses (46,442) remained unoccupied for a period ranging from less than 6 to more than 36 months, as the State government failed to identify beneficiaries for the scheme, rendering the expenditure of ₹3,984 crore incurred on these houses so far wasteful.
Mission unaccomplished
Thus, the objective of providing two-bedroom houses to the poor as envisaged could not be achieved, even after elapse of four years, as the identification of the beneficiaries has not been done by the government.
The CAG asked the government to prioritise the selection of beneficiaries as per guidelines and allot the houses already constructed through a transparent process. “The government should ensure funding for the projects and the loans drawn should be utilised for timely implementation of the scheme, without diversion or keeping the funds idle,” it said.
It also wanted the State government to put in place an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure early allotment to the identified beneficiaries.
Sheep-rearing scheme
The CAG also observed serious lapses in maintaining data of the beneficieries and keeping invoices to support transportation of sheep.
The scheme was introduced in 2017 to provide sustainable livelihood to the traditional shepherd families and improve their economic standard.
The statutory auditor found that invoices with fake vehicle registration numbers, invoices showing transportation of higher number of sheep units than that was possible or permitted and recycling of sheep.
“The above audit findings indicate lack of transparency including suspected fraud involving a financial implication of ₹254 crore in the implementation of the scheme,” it said.
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