Sewer work delayed by 10 yrs due to lack of due diligence by DJB: CAG

The CAG in its report today said lack of "due diligence" and not adhering to timelines by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) led to inordinate delay in laying sewer pipes, despite an expenditure of Rs 10.85 crore on it.

The report also rapped the Delhi Jal Board for its oversight in planning the sewer work.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report, said it was due to lack of "due diligence" and not adhering to timelines coupled with ad-hoc planning and management oversight, the sewer laying work which was to be completed by September 2007 remained work in progress as of June 30, 2017.

There were five sites where permission for cutting roads were required, but the board obtained permissions for four sites, it said.

"Risk of delays in getting the permissions should have been adequately managed by consulting these civic agencies about sewer laying plan in advance and the permissions should have been obtained prior to awarding the contract, which was not done," the CAG report said.

The report said the DJB should have considered using open cut technology for laying sewer pipes on gaps at these road sites in 2006 as well as when they re-awarded the contract in 2010.

The board realised that it should use trenchless technology only in May 2011 when a team of DJB senior officials visited the areas, it said.

"Having decided to use trenchless technology in May 2011, the DJB took another six years to award the contract in March 2017. The work which was supposed to cost Rs 3.76 crore, it will now cost Rs 6.62 crore," the report said.

The completed portion could not be put to use since August 2011 after spending Rs 10.85 crore including road restoration charges of Rs 6.88 crore.

Further, actual expenditure on road restoration by the agencies concerned was also not known to the DJB, the report said, adding that the intended objective to "abate pollution level in Yamuna river" could not be achieved for the last 10 years.