Lucknow | Aug 18, 2015: THE Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled its report for the year ended March 31, 2014, in the Assembly Monday indicating illegal mining and flouting of mining plan in the state.
The report for revenue sector indicated illegal mining in the state while doing scrutiny of files and registers of 13 district mining officers for the period between May 2013 to February 2014. As many as 130 cases of illegal mining were reported in which miners extracted and transported 7.90 lakh cubic metre of minor minerals between October 2008 and September 2013 without any lawful authority. The report also mentions that even after lapse of one to six years, efforts such as second notice, demand notice and recovery certificates were not issued by the department despite the fact that these cases of illegal mining were in knowledge of the mining department.
During audit, the CAG found that extraction of minor minerals according to mining plan was not adhered. In a test check of 195 leases, as many as 40 cases of extraction of minerals was done without approval. In 39 cases, mineral extraction was done without renewal of mining plan and in 18 cases extraction was done above the quantity approved. Mandatory plantation as mentioned in no objection certificate was not complied and only 26 out of 1,270 lease holders had record of plantation.
The CAG report also detected a loss of Rs 1.31 crore through sale of beer that was done without realising beer bar licence fee in six districts — Agra, Basti, Ghaziabad, Jalaun, Jhansi and Sonbhadra. In another six districts, the minimum guarantee quota of liquor was not enhanced from previous year by six per cent resulting in a loss of Rs 1.74 crore in licence fee.
In the transport department, the CAG report pointed that revenue of Rs 8.35 crore was not realised from the vehicles plying without certificate of fitness while additional tax of Rs 19.20 crore was not levied on JNNURM buses operating outside municipal area.
Findings in the CAG report for stamps and registration department indicate undervaluation of properties resulting in short levy of stamp duty and registration fee of Rs 5.28 crore.
The CAG report also mentioned about Kanpur Development Authority indicating that six maps were approved in contravention to building bylaws resulting in short recovery of floor area ration charges to the extent of Rs 7.75 crore. Ghaziabad Development Authority failed to recover charges on corner plots resulting in revenue loss of Rs 98.38 lakh.
UP Forest Corporation had also erred as per CAG report as it made short payment of royalty to state government of Rs 201.52 crore on tendu leaves during the period 2010-11 to 2013-14. Out of the 20 units where tendu culture was done in Renukoot division for season 2012-13, the production and weight per standard bag of tendu leaves declined in five units.
CAG report also indicated that UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Limited extended undue favour to contractors resulting in avoidable expenditure of Rs 17.51 crore on procurement of transformers at higher rate. It also made an excess payment of Rs 11.84 crore to the sub-contractor due to incorrect application of cost index. The Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam extended undue favour to the contractor by allowing changes in the bid submitted and reimbursed Rs 2.92 crore.
(Source: http://indianexpress.com/)