TN funds go to DMK schemes, says CAG
True Hindu
infrastructure development in rural areas, the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India (CAG) said in its latest report on local bodies that
the money was instead used for taking up pet projects of the ruling
DMK .
The report for the financial year ending March 31, 2009, submitted in
the Assembly on Monday, said that schemes like free colour TVs, supply
of gas stoves, old age pension and subsidy to self help groups were
ineligible, as the funds were meant to be utilised for infrastructure
development.
"Six districts showed ineligible items amounting to Rs 120.98 crore as
dovetailed under Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (a rural
infrastructure development scheme), inflating the achievement in
dovetailing," said the report, adding the projects were ineligible as
"these did not result in mobilisation of resources into the villages
on creation of infrastructure as envisaged by AGAMT."
Citing other such instances, the CAG recommended avoiding fund
diversion to ensure that planning and execution of works under various
schemes were not affected.
The state government, in the recent Assembly session, had unveiled its
latest sop, free concrete houses for 21 lakh rural families. The
audit, however, has found that town panchayats had failed to utilise
the fund reserved for upgradation of kutcha houses due to non-
identification of beneficiaries.