The implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP), which was started during the Seventh Five-Year Plan to upgrade infrastructure in areas at risk, has been criticised by India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).A report presented in both houses of the Bihar legislature on Tuesday claims that no long-term action plan was created to accomplish the program’s goals and that no baseline survey or spatial mapping was carried out to evaluate significant gaps in the fundamental physical and social infrastructure.“Annual action plans were prepared with significant delays and had several deficiencies, such as the selection of non-feasible or non-admissible works, which were eventually cancelled,” states the CAG report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.
The BADP was later expanded to include states sharing international borders with Myanmar, China, Bhutan, and Nepal, including Bihar, during the Ninth Five-Year Plan. The CAG report states that from June to October 2022, an audit was conducted in Bihar’s seven border districts: Araria, East and West Champaran, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, and Supaul.It also emphasises that no district-level committees in these districts have developed long-term plans for fiscal year 2020-21.
“As a result, current infrastructure gaps could not be assessed. Nineteen of the 82 projects, amounting to Rs 4.99 crore, remained incomplete even after the deadlines had passed.” The report criticizes the state government for taking nine years to draft the Bihar Building and Other Construction Workers Rules and 28 months to form the welfare board. It also highlights irregularities in project implementation, including the denial of medical assistance to 3,02,476 workers and the failure to secure funds under the Covid-19 special grant scheme.The Bihar Rajya Fasal Sahayata Yojana has also faced shortcomings due to the absence of a database of potential beneficiaries. The report reveals that 52% of verified applications were rejected due to issues with land possession certificates, self-declarations, and applicants’ absence during verification. Additionally, financial assistance amounting to Rs 1,424.59 crore for 24,08,275 transactions was delayed by up to 21 months for 15,27,419 transactions.
The implementation of the Neer Nirmal Pariyojna has been criticized, with the Bihar government receiving only Rs 326.1 crore and being denied assistance totaling Rs 476.9 crore due to delays and lower expenditure until March 2020. The CAG report also identifies several unnecessary expenditures, including Rs 19.44 crore spent on laying 34.62 km of rising main pipes in Ghogha Ghat and Silao, which could have been avoided by using groundwater for water supply.The report further reveals that the installation of 24,123 multi-jet water meters in Rajauli, Nawada, resulted in their idleness due to a fixed monthly user fee of Rs 30 per connection. Poor planning and assessment led to Rs 11.68 crore in wasted expenditure on unused buildings and machinery.
