New Delhi, March 16: Indian taxpayers shelled out lakhs for an ice hockey rink at a school in Leh that remains closed in the months when water freezes there, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said.

The rink, the CAG found, was sanctioned by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) at its Leh school after sustained persuasion from the Ice Hockey Association of India — a private body.

Built in April 2004, the rink, however, could not be used by students as it never had ice. The rink cost Rs 42 lakh, said the report tabled in Parliament yesterday.

“Examination by audit disclosed that ice formation in the rink by natural freezing of water can take place with some degree of certainty only during January and February. The KV (at Leh), and other schools in the area, however, remain closed for their winter break during these months,” the CAG report said.

A senior official of the KVS — which runs close to a thousand central schools across India — however said the rink had been used for “other sports”.

“In our response to the CAG too, we have communicated that the rink was utilised by students for roller skating and badminton,” the official told The Telegraph, responding to the CAG report strictly on condition of anonymity.

The CAG has, however, dismissed the KVS argument as an “after-thought to rationalise wasteful expenditure”. The school, the CAG report pointed out, already has another playground for other sports.

The reprimand for the KVS does not stop at ice hockey.

The audit has found that the KVS had in 2004 sanctioned squash courts in 14 of its schools, after an understanding with the Squash Rackets Federation of India that the sports body would provide coaches for free.

The courts were built only in five schools, at a total cost of Rs 1.97 crore.

But the federation refused to provide coaches.

“The KVS did not enforce the commitment by SRFI to provide coaches and instead asked the concerned schools to invite bids afresh from coaching agencies,” the report said.