Over 260K workers in Bihar did not get funds under Covid Special Grant: CAG

Over 260,000 construction workers in Bihar did not receive funds amounting to ₹52.02 crore under the COVID Special Grant Scheme due to technical issues, a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report said.

The CAG's performance and compliance audit report of the Bihar government for the year that ended on March 31, 2022 was tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday.

It also stated that 3,02,476 construction workers were deprived of annual medical assistance amounting to ₹90.75 crore, while budget provision of ₹4,134.21 crore had not been utilised by the state universities, and that Bihar was deprived of World Bank assistance amounting to ₹476.90 crore under the Neer Nirmal Pariyojna.

"The state government framed the Bihar Building and Other Construction Workers Rules (BBOCW Rules) after a delay of nine years. The Bihar Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BBOCWB) had been constituted after a delay of 28 months," it said.

Further, the Board and the State Advisory Committee (SAC) had not been reconstituted, after February 2015. Inspectors appointed by the Board had not conducted any inspection of the construction sites or premises, during financial years 2017-22, it stated.

Due to failure in transactions by the authorities concerned, 3,02,476 construction workers were deprived of annual medical assistance amounting to ₹90.75 crore during financial years 2018-21, while 2,60,082 labourers did not receive funds amounting to ₹52.02 crore under the COVID-19 Special Grant Scheme, it said.

The state Cooperative Department did not have any database of potential beneficiaries required for planning, monitoring, and ensuring satisfactory coverage to farmers under the scheme, the report said.

It further added that due to the non-linking of Aadhaar with the farmers' bank accounts, closure of accounts etc., transactions amounting to ₹ 51.11 crore had failed, across different crop seasons during 2018-21.

As far as administrative and financial issues in the universities of Bihar were concerned, the report said, "During financial years 2017-22, against the budget provision of ₹22,576.33 crore, ₹4,134.21 crore (18 per cent) had not been utilised and was surrendered to the Education Department by the universities, indicating unrealistic budget proposals and inadequate financial control mechanism in the institutes."  In five of the 11 state universities, the arrears of salaries, of teaching and non-teaching staff, amounting to ₹48.28 crore, had been disbursed without due verification through the Pay Verification Cell, it said.

In the 11 state universities, 57 per cent of posts of teaching staff were lying vacant and this shortage ranged from 49 per cent (Bhupendra Narain Mandal University) to 86 per cent (Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic & Persian University). Similarly, vacancy of non-teaching staff was 56 per cent in these universities, it said.

Under the Neer Nirmal Pariyojna scheme, the report said, "The World Bank was to contribute approximately ₹803.00 crore (50 per cent of the project cost). Due to delays in implementation and less expenditure till March 2020, Bihar received only ₹326.10 crore and was deprived of World Bank assistance, amounting to ₹ 476.90 crore."  Further, Neer Nirmal Pariyojna funds of ₹64.21 crore had been diverted towards payment of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and non-eligible schemes, it added.

The construction of a bridge by the Rural Works Division, Barh (Patna), without ensuring the availability of eligible habitations and land, led to idle expenditure of ₹3.33 crore, it said.

"Non-production of records severely limits the exercise of CAG's constitutional mandate and may result in lack of accountability by the state government functionaries, as well as instances of concealment of fraud, misappropriation, embezzlement etc.," the CAG report added.