Bhubaneswar: The capital expenditure programme (CAPEX), a major scheme of the Odisha government to bring about reforms in the power sector, has been wound up before completion allegedly because of lack of planning.

The revelation was made in the CAG report that was laid in the Assembly on Monday. The CAG also pointed out many loopholes in other sectors, including in the business plan of the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) which resulted in the corporation losing the opportunity to earn revenue of Rs 1,838. 98 crore. Principal accountant general Madhumita Basu addressed a news conference on this issue

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had launched the programme in 2010 to bring about improvement in distribution systems and to reduce aggregate technical and commercial losses. However, the CAG revealed that deficiencies in planning for the programme led to the failure of the CAPEX programme. The CAG said the monitoring committee headed by the energy secretary was not effective in overseeing the implementation of the programme.

Under the programme, Rs 2,400 crore was to be invested. According to the agreement, out of Rs 2,400 crore, Odisha was to invest Rs 1,200 crore and the rest was to be borne by power distribution companies - Cesco, Nesco, Southco and Wesco. But defects were found in the funding mechanism of the programme. State government short-closed the programme with an investment of Rs 877,49 core as distribution companies did not contribute any programme. The Grid Corporation of Odisha failed to implement the revised funding pattern. Another disconcerting issue is that Discoms were not equipped with the skills and expertise to handle the CAPEX projects. The reduction of aggregate technical and commercial losses was only 5.58 per cent against a target of 15 per cent. This had resulted in loss of opportunity to earn additional revenue of Rs 471 crore.