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The Comptroller and Auditor General has rapped the Kerala Tourism Department for ineffective promotional activities and other omissions.
In its audit report for year ending March 2014, CAG questioned the effectiveness of the tourism promotion activities and said several infrastructure projects failed to take off because of the failure to acquire land and the poor planning, design and execution.
Funds refundFailure to acquire land led to a refund of Central financial assistance to the tune of ₹5.24 crore. In cases where projects were inordinately delayed due to poor planning, design and execution, Central funds of ₹10.68 crore had to be returned.
Delay/non-completion in seven ongoing projects within prescribed time limit had burdened the state exchequer by ₹7.73 crore, the CAG audit revealed.
The sea plane project, a flagship programme, failed to take off after incurring an expense of ₹23.29 crore. This was mainly due to lapses in addressing the livelihood concerns of the fishermen community.
The audit also found that efforts aimed at protection of ecology and controlling pollution at various destinations were lacking in their sense and purpose.
E-toilets go dryFailure to ensure the cooperation of the local self-governments effectively scuppered e-toilets installed at a cost of ₹40 lakh at four destinations as it failed to ensure proper water and power connections.
Lack of coordination among the Department and other implementing agencies led to the failed the seven-pronged strategy that the Central tourism policy envisages with respect to Sanrachana (infrastructure); Soochana (information dissemination); Safai (cleanliness); Suvidha (amenities); Sahyog (coordination) and Suraksha (safety and security).
The audit also found fault with the spending committed on and the failure to monitor ceiling for conduct of Kerala Travel Mart, an international forum of buyers and sellers of tourism destinations and packages.
It revealed that the Kochi Biennale Foundation had utilised the grant for renovation and maintenance of its Mumbai office at a cost of ₹38.03 lakh, which was unrelated to the hosting of the Biennale.
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