NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Lack of coordination between the departments, consultants and clients as also delay in the release of funds and in obtaining approvals has resulted in the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) exceeding the time limit by 66 months for completing work on various infrastructure development projects in the state, said the country’s supreme auditor.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in his report for the year ended March 2015, has said that delays were mainly due to lack of funds, delay in land acquisition, delay in obtaining the needed approvals and clearances, and foreclosure of work. All this has forced the GSIDC to go beyond the time limit of four or five years to execute the work, the CAG has said.
“During the period from 2010-15, GSIDC has completed 101 projects and of these, 27 projects were completed on time and the remaining 74 projects were
completed with delay ranging from one to 66 months. Nearly 49 per cent of the ongoing 118 works have already exceeded the stipulated date of completion by three to 45 months,” said the performance audit report.
The CAG has also brought out three such projects that were delayed and not executed in time. The Captain of Ports (CoP) had proposed to the GSIDC to take up the upgradation of three minor ports at Panaji, Britona and Old Goa. An initial estimate of Rs 6.53 crore was prepared and approved in 2004 which was later revised to Rs 15.30 crore in 2007. However, the work did not progress well because the CoP delayed in providing funds, construction plans were not cleared in time by both CoP and GSIDC and the necessary clearances from environment protection agencies were also delayed.
Of the three minor port projects, two have been completed and handed over to the client department, while work on Old Goa jetty has not been completed even after ten years of its commencement.
“We noticed that though there were delays in approvals from the concerned statutory authorities, lack of coordination between the consultant, client department and GSIDC regarding their respective roles and responsibilities was a major factor for the delay,” the CAG report said.
The clearance for reconstruction of Old Goa jetty from ASI and CoP was received by March 2013 and the work was awarded in February 2014 to a contractor at a cost of Rs 17.84 crore. The work was scheduled t be completed by May 2015 however, it has not been completed and the payment made to contractor and consultant was Rs 11.98 crore till January this year.
The CAG also noted that in the case of Panaji jetty the work which was supposed to be completed in August 2013 was delayed by two years. The EIA was conducted in March 2008 but due to delay in obtaining clearances from GCZMA and GSPCB the work could not be commenced and in the meanwhile, consultant expressed his inability to execute work and the GSIDC had to terminate the contract in October 2008. Later GSIDC in September 2009 halt the project for two years until the CoP released Rs 8.02 crore. Thereafter a new contractor was appointed and paid Rs 14.29 crore.
In respect of Britona jetty the work was completed in October 2010 at a cost of Rs 3.49 crore and handed over to the CoP in the year 2011.