CAG faults govt for not using funds

Puducherry, May 2 (UNI) The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has charged the territorial administration with having no comprehensive action plan to utilise the funds received from the Centre for tsunami relief.

In its report for the year ended March 31, 2006, tabled in the House today, the CAG said there were deficiencies in identification of beneficiaries for immediate relief and rehabilitation and the assistance for repair/replacement of fishing crafts was delayed by four to 17 months after the calamity.

Considerable delay was noticed in reconstruction activites. Out of 7567 families to be resettled by shifting them to houses constructed for them, only 100 were resettled.

Monitoring the implementation was also poor, it added.

The report noted that the total investment in government companies--12, including one subsidiary, increased from Rs 455.51 crore as on March 31, 2005 to Rs 480.46 crore as on March 31, 2006.

The accounts of nine companies are in arrears for a period ranging from one to two years. As per the latest finalised accounts, six government companies earned an aggregate profit of Rs 14.23 crore and of this, only two companies declared a dividend of Rs 1.16 crore for 2005-06.

Three companies incurred an aggregate loss of Rs 19.79 crore and of this, the accumulated loss of two companies was Rs 225.41 crore, which exceeds their paid-up capital of Rs 216.50 core.

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