Behind schedule

New Delhi, July 16: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has pulled up the railways for its inability to resolve financial irregularities amounting to Rs 11,701.23 crore.

Based on the results of its test audit, the CAG issued 14,513 audit objections during 2002-03. In addition, there were 26,629 carry-forward audit objections of 2001-02.

The CAG report indicates that 14,112 audit objections were settled resulting in a recovery of Rs 49.50 crore during 2002-03 after the railway administration agreed and recovered the amounts involved. However, the railways still face 27,030 audit objections till March 2003, which involves financial irregularities amounting to Rs 11,701.23 crore.

The CAG has pulled up the railways for a loss of Rs 86.28 crore as a result of encroachment, mismanagement of railway land and non-recovery of dues from outsiders utilising the railway’s property.

The CAG has said the delay of 10 years by the Railway Board in issuing modified guidelines have resulted in a non-recovery of Rs 29.38 crore. These covered areas like suppression of impracticable and cumbersome guidelines issued by them in September 1985 on licensing of railway land resulted in disputes, delay in revision of licence fee, non-revision, non-execution of fresh agreements and non-preferment of bills.

Further, the failure of railway administration to protect railway land of closed sidings resulted in unauthorised occupation on railway land, which is valued at Rs 49.28 crore. Besides, the railways have failed to recover dues of Rs 93 lakh from siding owners.

The CAG has criticised railway administration for its inability to guard its land against encroachment by its own serving and retired employees and outsiders. About 8.78 acres is still under unauthorised occupation resulting in a loss to the railways of about Rs 6.69 crore.

The railways have been pulled up by the CAG for payment of higher rates due to delay on their part to companies supplying pre-stressed concrete sleepers (PSC). “Failure to counter-offer the updated rate had resulted in extra expenditure of Rs 30.97 crore,” states CAG.

The Central Railway has been found to have undertaken an extra expenditure of Rs 2.64 crore as it had failed to stop manufacturing of stock items in workshops, despite the fact that such items were available in the market at lower costs.